Ravens among Angels
by Biome
Summary: In the end, who can tell the difference between the two? RusCan Human names used.
1. Down the Rabbit hole

**I've been scratching at my brain for ideas on what to write, and this appeared. So... Ya... Enjoy and all that jazz.**

Chapter 1 Down the "Rabbit" hole.

Matthew carefully stepped down from the final step in a swirling staircase, and nervously slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. It's old fabric was torn in some places distorting the image of the Canadian flag printed in the middle of the clothing article. He shakily sighed failing to calm his nerves.

* * *

His younger brother and a handful of his friends were all drunk the night before, all having a good time at his house. They did normal drinking games like beer pong for hours, until some of them fell asleep. The only ones left awake were Alfred, Gilbert, Kiku, and himself. Alfred suggested that they play truth or dare before one of them passed out or died of boredom. It continued along as planned until only he and Gilbert were left.

"You. You know what?" Gilbert slurred, a content smile stretched across his features.

"What?" Matthew was sitting back in his chair starring at the TV broadcasting meaningless nothing.

"Dare or dare?" Gilbert asked giggling from his utter stupidity.

"I don't know, dare?" Mattie said sarcastically.

"I dare you..." The albino stopped in thought, a devilish smile spreading across his face as a plan formulated in his head."You know that old Asylum a few miles out?"

"W-what? Ya- Why?" Matthew stopped spacing out and snapped his full attention back to his drunk buddy.

"Well I heard that anyone who goes in there comes out as nutty as it's patients." Gilbert adjusted his position so he was laying across the small couch with his head on the young Canadian's lap.

"I-isn't that place boarded off and abandoned?" The blond asked catching on to what his friend was getting too. He didn't like it at all.

"I dare you... to go in there, an-and bring back a souvenir. _Kesesesesesese~!_"

"WHAT! ARE YOU BAT-SHIT CRAZY! I DON'T WANT TO GET KILLED!" Matthew yelled in a new-found louder voice.

"_Kesesesesesesese~!_

"Ah... Bruder stop. Mattie clearly doesn't want to play your stupid game anymore." Ludwig rubbed his head sleepily. The blond man stood up from the floor next to Feliciano.

"Oh but it will be fun~ Don't be such a Muschi Mattie." Gilbert was still laughing in that strange way.

"N-no I'm just going to go to bed. Stay, leave I don't care, just be quiet. Please..." He wanted to dismiss this conversation as quickly as he could before something regrettable happened. He got up and walked into the other room, cradling his pounding head. The door slammed and the albino man shifted into a more comfortable position.

"You'll come around." Gilbert smiled darkly and resumed to watch the TV passively changing the channel a few times.

* * *

Matthew tossed and turned in fitful sleep, cold sweat dripping from his brow. The sound of bone shattering and flesh bending awakened him. 'What the hell was that...!?' He tried thrashing the blankets from his body, but stopped when his hand met cold leather.

"Scheiße we hit a bird." A German voice grumbled.

"Wha-" The Canadian looked down at himself and saw a grey seat-belt strapped tightly against his chest and waist.

"Gutan Morgen Mattie." The same German greeted.

"Morning big bro!" Alfred turned around to face his brother.

"What's g-going on?" Matthew asked afraid of the answer he might get.

"Dude where was it you were taking him again?" the american asked the man in the drivers seat. Mattie could hear frantic whispering and a soft chuckle.

"To Candyland~~!" They both cheered as the car shuttered to a stop. The both of them laughed madly as the blond in the back seat froze in horror.

"Y-you've got to be shitting me..." He gaped in terror at the large metal gate towering ahead of them. The building past the metallic entrance was just as unsettling. A large red cross was painted to it's front, and large wooden boards littered the windows. Matthew's car door opened to reveal an over-excited american. He flashed his toothy grin and unbuckled Mattie as Gilbert came behind him with a crowbar.

"Ready for the next 48 hours of your life?" Alfred asked, still helping his brother out of the car.

"N-no, wait 48 HOURS! Alfred No!" Matthew cried out in fear.

"You'll be fine... trust me!" The younger of the to encouraged. When they were both standing and ready, they started to walk to the front of the car where their German friend was inspecting his headlights.

"Damn birds." the albino whispered to himself before scraping the large black bird's carcass out of the light socket and throwing it in the opposite direction. "C'mon lets get moving shall we?" He walked up next to both brothers and helped shove the Canadian towards the building that would only show up in your nightmares. It felt like hours for their march of death to end before they reached the boarded off front door.

"Oh no. Its boarded off... I guess we'll just have to go now, eh?" Matthew tried his best to get out of this mess. Alfred looked at him and started to laugh annoyingly.

"Dude your funny."the american stated between bursts of laughter. Gilbert walked up next to them and smiled evilly.

"It's not gonna be boarded off for long. THIS DOOR IS NO MATCH FOR THE AWESOME ME!" He pulled out the crowbar from behind his back and quickly pried it between the wood and the door frame. Mattie's heart sank, the wood separated as if it were nothing. The door creaked open and the Canadian was quickly shoved inside by two sets of arms. He looked back through the open door for a second savoring what could be his last glimpse of the outside world. He heard the beat of wings, and not even a second later a huge crowd of black colored birds perched onto the gate. They all seemed to watch him, in anticipation. For what?

"Move dude." Alfred pushed past him, followed by Gilbert. The albino searched around the wall for a minute before finding a light switch and clicking it on. Surprisingly the electricity still worked here. But how? Isn't this place said to be abandoned? In front of them lay a small room, with a large desk off to the side, a withered potted plant set beside it. Under closer observation, he could see tons of papers and files strewn across it's surface.

"Dude check it out." Before Mattie could stop him, the american walked over to the desk and started going through the mess of papers.

"What did you find?" Gilbert asked as he walked over to Alfred an intrigued look plastered onto his face.

"Oh, look at this guy, says he's from Russia." Matthews's younger brother held out a file to him, a smile on his face. As the other two continued to look through all of the records and paperwork, Mattie looked down at the file in his hands. A small picture of a little Russian boy slid from the folder and rested on the ground. Even though it was in black-and-white he could see how miserable the child looked out in the cold winter setting. He flicked his eyes from the photo to the written report.

"Ivan Braginsky,

Date of birth:December 30th 1854,

Height:4'5",

Weight:87 lbs,

Birthplace: Moscow Russia,

Reason for entry:Brutally murdered 14 children at small town school. He was found holding a metal pipe against an educational instructor's throat.

Date of entry: September 13th 1867,

Current Family: None

-A long list of medications trailed off until the end of the page-"

Matthew frowned and whispered to himself, "That's terribly sad. He sat there for a few moments sulking and listening quietly to the other men. A loud crash echoed through the hall ahead of them, making them all jump in fear.

"Well Mattie, we'd better get going. Have fun~" Alfred shivered and muttered to himself about ghosts and other creatures from the movies he watches.

"Good luck buddy!"Gilbert called out as he was already on his way out the door. Alfred quickly hugged Matthew with a nervous smile, then ran after the German.

"Oh ya, before I leave." His younger brother stopped and handed the other blond a small flashlight. "Just to be safe." He didn't spare the older man a second to speak, before running full speed out the door.

"What abou-" Mattie sighed. "And he's gone..." The Canadian shook his head clearing all of his thoughts of death and fear, and focused on the task at hand, survive two days in this hell.

**Thanks for reading, constructive criticism is welcome as long as you don't flame. C: I don't own anything, thought it would be pretty 'interesting' if I did. :3**


	2. The Raven and the writing desk

**I like this new story~! I couldn't wait to update!**

**Chapter 2 The Raven and the Writing desk.**

Mattie walked down the stairs into the most bottom level of the building. It was a little unsettling being who knows how many feet under the ground, surrounded by the smell of decaying flesh and mold. He wrapped his sleeve around his mouth and nose, 'The smell, it's horrifying.' The folder he looked through upstairs was still held loosely in his left hand. The blonde continued to walk down the long dark hallway, the only light being the battery operated devise in his bone-crushing grip. 'Oh man, why do I keep watching those movies with Alfred?' He stopped at a tall wooden door that towered over him. A small metal sign was stamped to the wall next to it. "Dr. Adams"

"... Maybe I'll find shelter for the next few days in here...?" Matthew whispered to himself. It took a while to muster up enough force, and courage to push to doors open and peek inside. The first thing that came into the vision of his flashlight was a small red rolling chair and a large wooden desk. Cautiously, the Canadian walked inside, closing the door behind himself gently. 'Well the light switch upstairs worked...' Matthew clicked on the switch on the far right wall, and sighed in relief at the light over head coming to life. His moment of relief was cut short by the horrors that were hanging on the walls and plastered to the desks. Birds. Everywhere in sight were bird carcasses cut open and dissected. If the're still here they must have been sterilized and drained of their blood. Mattie quickly turned around and bent into the nearest garbage can and vomited. 'What is this place!?' He was ready to walk out and forget that he was even there, until a large bulletin board caught his eye. He walked over to it, reading the words printed on it. A list of names ranging from A-Z stretched across half the page. Curiously, the blonde looked at his folder, then at the "I" section. Just as he assumed, the name "Ivan Braginsky" was printed there. Matthew's eyes wandered to the words next to their names. "Winter Raven" was the one beside the Russian's name.

"Hmm... I've never heard of that one before..." He looked over at the desk and a flash of gold caught his attention. "A key?" The Canadian looked below the tabletop, and a short smile tugged at his lips. 'That wasn't to hard, eh?' He crouched down and unlocked the small compartment. 'A perfect fit.' He hesitated before pulling on the knob. 'What if this is a trap?' For a minute he stood there debating before another thought crossed his mind. 'If I'm in here, I'm going to die sometime or another.' What revealed its self made his whole body shake, and his stomach churn in all ways possible. Inside the desk, was a lifeless human heart. Mattie quickly pulled back in fear, tripping over his feet and landing on the ground with a thud. He almost let out a scream before he muffled it with his coat sleeve, afraid of what might awaken.

"W-what... Is that... Doing in t-t-there!?" The blond whispered as his breathing quickened. What he did next truly was insane. He touched it. In response the organ pulsed to life and began to beat quickly."W-W-WHAT THE HELL!?" The man screamed. The loud sound of metal clanking together only added to his fear. He ran out of the room, leaving the folder, and the possessed muscle behind. 'I have to get out of this god forsaken place!' As he ran by the closed cell doors, terrible images of his demise flooded his mind. When he was almost to the stairs, his body suddenly froze. A movement in the corner of his eye turned him to stone. He dared look through the half open cell door next to him and gasped.

"T-there's someone in there...!" The Canadian whispered hoarsely to myself. He quickly peered inside, fear pounding in his ears. Shining his flashlight in all of the corners, he found a white figure against the far left wall.

"H-Hello?" The Canadian squeaked, his voice all but gone. The figure was shaking violently, but responded to the man's call with a quick turn of his head. Mattie hesitated for a minute, then walked up to him squinting at the figure's face and form. The man before him had silvery-blond hair, and dull purple eyes. Matthew looked closer at his features, then froze. 'He has the same face as...' Then the Canadian let out a small gasp of realization "I-Ivan Braginsky?" The man stared back, pain burned in his dull eyes, seemingly at the sight of Matthew. He had a large muzzle covering his mouth and nose, and a long white straight jacket strapped to his tall thin frame. Mattie was at a loss for words... This man was over 100 years old and still alive?!

"A-are you ok?" Matthew asked on impulse to the crazed man about the violent thrashing from before. Ivan blinked, then his eyes flicked down towards the mask on his face.

Ever since Ivan arrived in this crap-shoot, he could tell the difference between a "white coat" and an outsider.

Outsiders had emotions clearly swimming around in their eyes when they saw him. The white coats on the other hand, had none. What little emotion that they had, was beaten from them before they even arrived here as doctors. This blond man before him was no White coat, he has fear and wonder in those lavender orbs. Having been here since childhood Ivan could probably answer in as good English as the speaker had.

"O-oh ok, I'll find a way to get that off- oh." The Russian turned his head to reveal a small buckle-strap. He flinched, but relaxed as the boy started to undo the hellish device's safety strap. It fell to the ground moments later, causing the Russian to breath in deeply with a content sigh.

"Da, I am fine." He shook his head back and forth loosening a soreness that had been there for years. Then he hesitated thinking of the English word for gratitude."Eh... T-thank you. It is extremely hard to speak in that damned device."

The Canadian noticed the slight hesitation, and how the man's voice cracked from misuse.

"Your welcome." The blond calmed down for a second, enjoying the silence, before remembering what he had read in this man's file. 'He KILLED 14 people...' The younger man backed up a little, the adrenalin of fear returning to his whole body. 'And, he... He's immortal?!' It hit him like a ton of bricks. 'THIS IS INHUMAN!'

Ivan stared at him, a worried and hurt look flashing in his eyes. He knew what the boy was thinking...

Without a second thought the Canadian ran out the cell door and back to the only place he knew was void of life, the dissection room.

Ivan looked down at the floor with a sigh, 'He left his...? Lantern? What is that?' He pushed off the wall as best he could with the chains attached to his waist.

"A camera? No it's too small..." The Russian kept muttering to himself, while the Canadian dashed wildly in the dark.

* * *

Ivan drove the small toy truck through the snow, a content smile stretched across his face.

"Vrum Vrum, lets save this polar bear from the Avalanche!" He continued to play as yelling echoed in the background. He hummed a soft lullaby before a familiar scream split the air.

"No P-please stop!" A shrill cry echoed across the playground, alerting the little boy playing in the snow.

"Why don't you love me?" A low male voice asked in a lustful tone. Little Ivan stopped playing in the snow, and growled under his breath. He remembered the same cries for help his mother had let out before she was raped and beaten to death. The small Russian boy looked around himself making sure no one was watching before grabbing a rusted pipe from the outside wall of the schoolhouse. 'I don't think anyone will mind if I just borrow this...' He ran as fast as his little legs would allow him in the deep snow towards the voices, adrenaline blocking out any other events happening around him, like two girls screaming. Ivan turned around the corner of the building to find exactly what he pictured, that bastard of a teacher was hurting his big sister. Images of his mother drove him further, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Without seconds hesitation he leaped onto the mans back and swung violently at his head, trying to dispatch the devil as quickly as possible. Ivan's sister stared at her brother and her teacher fighting an ran the way Ivan had come, tears freezing to her face. He finally after a while of struggling, and a few fists to the face, had pinned the monster to the ground, pipe jabbing his adam's apple.

"You little... fucker." The man sputtered and choked. Ivan's eyes burned a dark reddish-purple.

"No one, and I mean NO ONE TOUCHES SISTER!" The boy screamed in anger, his usually cute and childish voice cold and unfitting for a thirteen year old. "I will rip your beating heart from your PATHETIC chest!" He emphasized the word "pathetic" with a poison coated hiss. A weight on his shoulder caused him to snap his head back a crazed look on his face.

"Hello little one. Please unhand that man." An overly polite voice asked. The man behind him was wearing a long black coat, his brown eyes emotionless. As he spoke his short blond hair slapped against his face, making Ivan flinch. 'Wait, what happened? Who is this man?' He looked down below his pipe wielding hands and saw his teacher, a fearful look in his eyes. The man above him gave a spine chilling smile, and grabbed the kid from his position.

"Let go!" The thirteen year old cried as the tall man turned to the scene behind them. Blood... everywhere, blood was staining the snow and the wall of the school house, making Ivan's eyes stretch wide. 'How didn't I hear any of this...?' Another man was standing over one of the Russian boy's classmates, a dagger in hand.

"You, little Ivan, will be coming with us." The blond man whispered into Ivan's ear a smile still on his face.

"Why?"

* * *

Ivan choked out a tearful "Kolkolkol" of hate.

Matthew ran blindly through the hall and reached the familiar wood of the Doctor's room, and ripped the door open. He looked around, happy for the comforting light above him. His heart stopped thundering, and he slid against the closed door, sighing. He looked around at the surrounding papers scattered across the floor.

"There's gotta be something on why Ivan is still alive..." He rummaged through them and stopped at a document that had long red pen marks all over it.

"Gravehill Mental Asylum, condemned due to budget costs. 1977" Mattie closed his eyes, images of what this place might have looked like 100 years ago filling his mind. After a good 15 minutes he continued to search through the papers until he found another unlabeled folder. He opened it up, and found millions of documents on all of this asylum's patients. A small awkward feeling crept into his mind at the thought of the Russian patient. He searched for the "I" section again and reached the file without any problem.

"Day 3 after the administration.

The subject seems to be reacting to the DNA transfer quite well considering he hasn't died like the others. Small spikes are beginning to come from the his spine, indicating some change.

Day 17

The subject has been uncooperative and violent, some of the other doctors had to restrain him while I checked for any more change. And change I found, he has large bony stubs growing from either side of his spine just under his shoulder blades. Quite the change indeed. Hopefully this one will live long enough to finish the transformation cycle.

Day 30

Today is the day he finally snapped, we lost 4 doctors, and 1 nurse. We had to keep him close to my office to keep him out if trouble. His wings have finally grown to full size, and we found a way to 'painfully' keep them in his jacket. He won't be doing that again anytime soon.

Day 33

The subject has bitten off one of our nurse's fingers, so we had to put a muzzle on him. Just like a dog, how comical.

-The rest of the paper is torn and stained with what looks like coffee-"

The Canadian sat there for a minute processing what he had just read. 'He has, wings?' Mattie remembered the chart he had read earlier with the bird species next to the subjects' names. 'Winter Raven?

"H-he, oh no..." Matthew picked up the document and rushed out of the door. 'He's probably been in pain for years!' He left the door open, so he could have some light half of the way there.

Ivan looked up at the sudden appearance of the blonde man again, a short smile stretched across his face for a millisecond before it quickly disappeared.

"What is that you have there?" The Russian man asked tilting his head. The younger man didn't answer but strode over to him a blank expression plastered onto his face.

"What are you-" Ivan was cut short, by the younger man kneeling down and fiddling with the straight jacket he wore. A few minutes passed with Ivan starring wide eyed at the boy fiddling with the contraption before it started to slide off his shoulders. His bare chest was exposed and his wings screamed to be set free. Quickly thinking, he pushed the Canadian off of him and stood up. It didn't take long before the white cloth ripped from the shier force of the angelic limbs jutting out from the Russian's back. The beautiful moment was ruined by the explosive pain tearing his back apart. Blood splotched the walls as the wings spread out. The same red liquid began to drip down his back and pool onto the ground where his wings had unearthed themselves from his back. The silhouette of an angel danced in the light of Mattie's flashlight, making Ivan look even more unbelievable.

"T-they..." Ivan took in a sharp breath. "Must have tried too... grow inward." His face was covered in sweat, dripping from his nose, and running down his neck.

Matthew stared in complete awe, 'This man... no angel, no bird... He has wings!'

"I-It's true." He clamped his jaw shut again, and watched the writhing man shiver in pain."Are you alright?" He asked kneeling down again to look him in the eyes. His answer was labored gasps and a small smile.

"It's been too long..."

**I got too lazy to use Google translate, or ask a Russian, so just imagine the flashback is in Russian. Anyone else notice the Alice in wonderland names for my chapters? heh funny... Idk if there are any other Alice in Wonderland references I can make that can be related to the story though. :/**

**Until next chapter~**


	3. The Morning Sun

**Thank you all for the favorites and follows! It is really appreciated!**

Chapter 3 The morning sun

Ivan stretched every muscle he could, his waist still bound to the wall. He thanked the gods that he had enough chain to stand up. He could remember it clear as day, when they decided to bound him by the waist because he was too 'Dangerous.' He flapped his wings, sending more blood droplets, and large gusts of wind all around the room.

"Ahh..!" Matthew shielded his face with his arms, not wanting to be soaked in blood.

"мои извинения" the man grunted as creeks and pops echoed around the small room.

"Huh?" Mattie tilted his head. Ivan shook his head dismissively. As the Russian kept stretching, the blonde just watched quietly. Ivan raised his arms up and his wings, into an angelic pose, 'How beautiful...' Matthew thought for a moment, blushing. 'Where did that thought come from?'

Ivan looked down amusement sparkling in his eyes. "What is my new friend's name?" He asked even more amused at the young man's sputtering and flailing.

"Uh... Oh, my name's Matthew, but everyone calls me Mattie." He smiled awkwardly looking down at the ground.

"Ah Matvey, that's a pretty name." Ivan turned around smirking and began to pull at the metal on his waist.

"Well, it's pronounced Mattie, but... ok?" His attention snapped back up to the Russian when he heard the sound of bending metal.

"What!? How did you-"

"It isn't just bird DNA that they used on me." Ivan dropped the broken restraint with a chilling smile."I left something in the Doctor's room, do you want to come little Matvey?" he asked as he strode towards the door.

"H-hey wait!" The Canadian followed close behind, lightly brushing the soaked feathers of the Russian's wings. They walked in silence until they reached the open door, where Ivan's body tensed. He hesitated before leading the Canadian inside. Ivan looked over towards the desk, lightly hovering his hand over his chest.

'Wait he isn't going for what I think he is, is he?' As if to prove his point the man reached his hand into the same cabinet Matthew opened earlier.

"So Matvey was the one who caused me to awaken earlier, da?" He turned around motioning to the organ pulsing in his hands.

"W-well, yes." Mattie looked down to the ground blushing in shame.

"It is ok, you are helping me escape, no?" Matthew froze, ' I'm doing what now? Didn't this guy kill people?'

"B-but your a criminal! Wings or not right?" As he spoke, he could hear terrible sounds coming from the Russian. 'What is he doing now?' He looked up and his eyes widened. Ivan was forcing the heart through the skin of his chest."What the-" The skin opened up and tendrils from Ivan's chest pulled the organ through, placing it gently in the man's open cavity. As Mattie stared in shock, the skin closed up around the wound, and Ivan smiled childishly.

"What's wrong little Matvey?" The taller man feigned a worried tone.

"I-I really should have seen that coming... From now on, nothing is a surprise with you." Matthew murmured half to himself and half to the man before him. Ivan stepped out of the room, and turned to wait for the Canadian.

"You know, you still haven't told me why you killed all those people." Mathew put a safe distance between him, and the Russian. Ivan sighed heavily and began to walk down the hall with a scowl. "Just tell me. It's not like it matters anymore, that was hundreds of years ago." Mattie urged as he quickly sped after the Russian. The man suddenly froze looking behind himself.

"Hundreds!?" His face wasn't visible in the dark, scaring the Canadian a little."I've been down here for HUNDREDS OF YEARS!?" Ivan's voice echoed through the long corridor.

"W-well from what papers I've read, yes. It's the year 2013." Matthew shrunk back afraid of what Ivan might do.

Ivan felt light headed, 'I've been asleep that long!? His eye began to twitch furiously, and his head thundered with every breath. The world around him spun as he felt the ground beneath him sway. He took in one more shaky breath before falling forward. Dreams came flooding to the Russian, but this time they weren't nightmares of his past. They all had a particular blonde's face.

"Ivan!? Wake up!" Matthew shouted, shaking the large man's shoulders. 'I suppose I could have tried to catch him, eh?' The Canadian sat there for a minute thinking, than frowned. 'I hope I didn't give the poor guy a heart attack.' He felt around in the dark, before he reached the Russian's wrist to feel Ivan's pulse. He held his breath for a long moment, until he felt a small beat. 'It's slow but at least it's existent.' Matthew let out a relieved sigh. 'Thank god.' After a few minutes, he started to nod off sitting up.

"No I have to stay... awake..." The Canadian yawned out before slowly falling asleep next to the fainted Russian.

* * *

Ivan woke up gently, softly yawning and looking around himself. He felt a warm body, next to his and looked down. 'Matvey must have fallen asleep too...' The larger man looked at the Canadian's face with a slight smile. 'He looks so cute when he is asleep...' His cheeks warmed up at the thought. 'Why do I get this strange feeling when I am around him? Ivan looked down the hall, his eyesight in the dark a little better than a humans, and spotted a stairwell. 'I remember... when I first came here we wen't down some kind of stairs.' He took another glance at Matthew and frowned.'I can't leave little Matvey now that he helped me,' Hesitantly, the large Russian picked up the Canadian, making sure not to wake him up. He wrapped his wings around himself to provide warmth and safety fro the young blonde, and began to tread to the staircase. As he slowly and carefully ascended up the steps, he felt an arm wrap around his neck. Ivan froze, looking down at the boy in his arms. 'God has sent me one of his angels, to help me rid of my sins. I will protect his life with my own.' For the first time in years, the taller man felt a heat well up in his chest. 'My angel...' When he reached the uppermost floor, he could see a small amount of light, shining from the cracks of the front door.

"солнечный свет..." Ivan breathed in awe. Every step felt like another mile walked. Unwanted memory's slowly drifted through his head, annoying him like gnats.

"Matvey, wake up. We're almost out of here." Ivan whispered into Mattie's ear like a mother would to her child.

"Hmm?" The Canadian opened his eyes, childishly rubbing them before gasping. "Ahhhhhh! Oh, Ivan, you scared me. What did you say?" His response was being let down and pushed forward a little.

"W-wait! I can't leave yet! Alfred told me to stay for 48 hours, and bring back something!" Mattie stammered. For a split second the Russian looked confused before nodding.

"And you are."

"W-what do you mean?" Ivan motioned to himself a childish smile spreading across his face.

"You will just have to bring back something early..."

"I don't think-" the taller man shushed him, and turned his head to the side and glanced behind himself. With a quick tug and a grunt, he brought a long black feather up to Matthews face.

"Here. Good proof, da?" The blonde gently took it from Ivan's hand, closely observing it's color.

"Y-you didn't have too." A light blush dusted Mattie's face.

"Nyet, You keep it." They both shared a smile, and walked side by side to the door. Matthew stepped out and looked behind himself at the Russian, who gasped. His eyes were squinted, but even the little sliver of violet Mattie could see was sparkling with shier joy.

"I-I finally made it... I am finally free." Ivan breathed, basking in the light, his long black wings fluttering gently. The blonde smiled, and looked over at the metal gate where the black birds still sat. One of them made a call, it sounded somewhat like a crow, but deeper. The Russian behind Matthew lowered his head from the sun, his mouth open in shock. A smile quickly stretched across his face from ear to ear.

"Hello~" Ivan called happily. Matthew looked at him questioningly.

"Who?"

"These are the old test birds that used to visit me in the window when I was in the second wing."

"Ah..." The Canadian was still a little confused.

"They say greetings, and congratulations." Ivan hummed happily. He looked over to Matthew with a puzzled expression.

"What is _that?" _The Russian asked pointing towards the square thing in his friend's hand.

"Hmm?" Matthew looked away from the birds, and back at the device in his hand."Oh. It's an IPhone."

"I What?"

"You've been gone for a long time, eh? Uh, well..." he walked up to the other man and began to show him the basics.

"It still doesn't make sense." Ivan shook his head. Matthew giggled and dialed his brothers number.

"It's ok grandpa, you'll catch on." He laughed louder at the scowl his friend gave.

"Hey Mattie bro! How's the mad-house?" His brother answered.

"Ya just fine, could you pick me up? I don't feel like walking all the way home." The Canadian watched as Ivan walked over to the gate and held his hand out to a bird. There was a pause followed by laughing, before Matthew heard his brother speak again.

"Dude, It hasn't even been 24 hours!" The american shouted and began to laugh again. In the background he heard a loud "Kesesesesese~! and a few other hushed voices.

"Just pick me up I have something to prove I was in there long enough." Mattie smiled slightly at Ivan, covered in birds and talking to them.

"Whatever dude, you owe me a soda when we get back." Alfred quickly hung up. Matthew let out a long sigh, 'He really aggravates me sometimes...' He walked down the path towards the 'bird man' and watched as Ivan laughed and whispered between all of them.

"Hello Matvey, the birds are just as comforting as they where all that time ago."

"Interesting." The Canadian sat down against the gate, and smiled wider. A few minutes passed before either of them spoke.

"Why did you choose to come here?" Ivan asked turning his violet gaze onto the sitting blonde. Mattie sighed heavily and looked down at the ground.

"My brother and my friend took me here as a dare. I was too drunk to realize that they actually meant it."

"A challenge, da?" The Russian raised an eyebrow as some of the birds flew off of him and back onto the gate.

"Sort of, yes." The blonde picked at the loose thread of his sweatshirt passively. For a while they just sat there, until Matthew broke the silence.

"W-why did you... you know. Kill those children?" He asked awkwardly. Ivan sighed, a sad expression plastered onto his face.

"I didn't..." His voice was raw with emotion.

"I-I'm sorry, what happened?" 'He doesn't really look like the kind of person who would kill his own piers.'

With a long shaky sigh the Russian told the story that began the rest of his unnaturally long life. Stopping every few sentences to let out a soft "kol." Ivan finally finished remembering the tragic day, and looked up to the sky.

"That's... that's terrible." Matthew breathed, almost in tears himself.

"Da." Ivan looked behind himself as a car horn blared, piercing his ears. Matthew's eyes widened and he quickly coaxed the taller man out of sight behind some overgrown bushes.

"Hide!" The blonde whispered a little too harshly, then walked back near the gate. Ivan nodded fear and surprise shinning in his violet orbs.

"Hey Bro!" An overly loud american shouted.

"Hello Alfred." Matthew groaned an answer as his brother wrapped his arms around him into a huge bear-hug.

"So what's the souvenir?" The younger of the two asked his blue eyes glistening with excitement. Mattie bit his lip and retrieved the large feather from his pocket, hoping it will be enough for his annoying little brother.

"This." A long moment of silence followed, and then a huge gout of laughter erupted from his brother.

"Ahahaha! A bird feather? You're such a pussy, there's feathers all over the place out here!" Alfred laughed and shoved his brother playfully.

"B-but... it wasn't just a normal bird it was..." Matthew flicked his eyes towards the bush where his new friend resided, and saw his intense purple gaze starring straight into his soul. "You got me Alfie. Let's just go home."

"Fine, but you still owe me." The american snorted and walked over to the red car he borrowed from Gilbert.

"O-one second I'll be right back stay here." Matthew stopped following his brother, and walked back into the gate, turning around a corner and out of sight.

"I have a weird ass brother..." Alfred muttered to himself as he leaned into the car and started it's ignition.

The Canadian rushed over to the bush he left his friend near and smiled, Ivan was still there.

"I guess this is... goodbye?" He said his smile drooping a little at the thought.

"Da, It is. Thank you for setting me free. I will forever be in your debt." The tall Russian rose from his crouching position, and faced the blonde. His hot breath warmed Matthew's cheeks, before Ivan planted a butterfly kiss on his forehead. That's when his whole body surged with the same warmth, he felt his blush deepen as the silver-haired man pulled away.

"I'm going to miss you." Mattie sighed sadly.

"You will see me again, don't worry. You can't keep a Raven and an Angel apart for long." The same sadness shone in Ivan's eyes, but he still brought himself to smile.

"Farewell Matvey~"

"Goodbye Ivan..." Matthew hugged him gently, momentarily brushing his hands against the huge raven wings hanging from The Russian's back.

Mattie rushed back to the car and leaned in, a small blush still clear across his cheeks.

"What was that?" Alfred asked as he turned the vehicle around in the long gravel pathway.

"Just an interesting bird." Matthew said dismissively, and stared out the window. After the Asylum was almost out of sight, the young Canadian could have sworn he saw a large bird fly off into the opposite direction. He smiled, 'Enjoy your freedom Ivan.'

**I am already working on the next chapter as we speak/read/type. Until next update~**


	4. Sleepovers with Mattie

**Hey another chapter. I wonder where that came from?**

Chapter 4 Sleepovers with Mattie

Matthew lay in his bed awake, the bedside clock read 11:54 pm. For the past few nights he couldn't fall asleep, the same face burned in his vision. 'Where did he go?' Was the most frequent question buzzing in his mind. No matter how much he told himself to forget about it, the same thought still lingered in the farthest reaches of his brain. Trying for the millionth time, Mattie closed his eyes and listened to the pitter-patter of the rain on his window. He slowly drifted in and out of consciousness, but sadly didn't get the relief of deep sleep. In the distance an owl hooted, making the Canadian frown. 'Why must everything remind me of that strange man?'

"I give up." Matthew muttered bitterly and rolled out of bed. "I'm going to go watch TV." Slowly he shuffled across the hardwood floor into the main room where Alfred lay on the couch snoring. The TV was still on, and reflecting unnatural light throughout the whole room. Mattie sighed and rubbed his temples, 'I'm surprised we're not out on the street with all of these expensive electric bills.' He pushed Alfred's legs off the couch and sat down, grabbing the remote from out of the other's hand. The TV flashed as the channel was changed from Adult Swim to a boring nature show. 'Maybe this will help fry my brains enough to get a decent hour of sleep...' His eye lids drooped as he watched the baboons fighting over territory rights. He felt like a fish out at sea jumping in and out of the soft fuzzy water of sleep. Matthew sat on the couch for about 3 hours, in a shallow slumber, before a slight sound coming from his room alerted him.

"Hmm?" The Canadian stood up and walked sluggishly up to his door and walked in. The first thing he noticed, was open window letting in the chilly September breeze. His eyes drifted from the window to a small white bear sitting innocently on his pillow. His body started to shake in fear, 'Someone's in the house!?' A creaking sound came from outside making the blonde let out a small squeak of surprise. Mattie slowly made his way to the open window, his breath hitched in his throat. His gaze traveled all around the outside of the house, nothing out of the ordinary. "I must be going crazy." Matthew sighed holding his palm to his forehead in exhaustion.

"Hello little Matvey~" Came a childish voice above Mattie's head. By reflex the Canadian looked up out of the window frame and yelped in fear at the large man holding onto the side of the house.

"MAPLE!" Matthew felt the window frame shift as he fell face-first out into the night air. The heavy rain droplets stung his face as he was in a short free fall, before he hit the- ground? Instead of hitting cold solid earth, he felt strong arms hold him about an inch from his death. Their touch was as gentle as a cloud, it felt like they were barely touching him in the first place.

"You must be more careful next time Matvey. You could have died, and that wouldn't be good for either of us, da?" Mattie still recovering from shock looked down at the moonlit face holding him. He couldn't help but let a small smile spread onto his face, Ivan had come back for him.

"I-Ivan!" Matthew found himself pushing forward and his feet landing on the soaked ground. He turned around and attacked the tall Russian with a huge hug. "How did you find me?"

"The birds led me. You didn't notice my little pigeon friend flying around outside your house?" Ivan asked and returned the hug happily.

"W-well yes, he was always tapping at my window, I just thought it was seeing it's own reflection..." Mattie stated awkwardly. The Russian chuckled and patted Matthew's head.

"Did you get my gift?" Ivan pointed his finger up at the window his friend fell out of. It took the Canadian a minute to remember what that meant, before he smiled gently.

"Yes, It's really adorable. Thank you."

"I thought I'd give you something to remember me by when I'm not here." Ivan smiled while lifting Mattie up with ease. The blonde let out a small squeak of surprise and frowned. The Russian flew up and hovered near the window, turning the body in his arms to fit through the small space.

"What do you mean? I thought you came back?" Matthew questioned, as he was gently pushed into the window. Ivan gripped the frame, and folded his wings to fit through the best he could. A few black feathers fell onto the ground as his wings scraped against the top of the window. He grumbled and dusted himself off while standing up to face Matthew.

"I can't stay for long. Your 'brother' I am assuming, lives with you."

"What Alfred? He does, but I don't think he'll mind another room mate. He helped Kiku for a while when he couldn't find a home." With all his heart, Mattie had wished that Ivan could have stayed with him when they left the Asylum.

"He'll see me." Ivan grumbled and looked towards his wings anger burning in his eyes.

"You can hide them can't you?" Matthew asked encouragingly.

"It's too much of a risk. No one shall know of what horrors that happened all those years ago." Ivan looked to the ground, remembering terrible events that had happened within those wretched walls. "Don't fret though, I found a shelter not too far from here... I'll visit every week. You'll get to see me every Fri-"

"Please, If it isn't too much..." Mattie's cheeks burned with embarrassment. "C-could you come every night? Y-you know just to give each other company?" He felt hot all over over as he searched for emotion in the Russian's face. Ivan lifted his head up to stare the Canadian in the eyes, a smile stretched across his face..

"That can be arranged~"

They both talked for a while until the sun began to creep up into the sky, signalling Ivan's time to leave. The Russian's eyes traveled from the window to his friend and he smiled warmly.

"Farewell Matvey~ I will be back sooner this time."

"See you later!" Matthew watched as his friend squeezed through the small window again, a smile pulling on his lips. As the man turned his head to look behind himself, Mattie saw a long red scratch across his neck. He tried to hide a frown, while Ivan flew off in the opposite direction of the rising sun. 'I must find him something in return.'

* * *

That day when Matthew went shopping he found the most perfect gift, and wrapped it in a small box. 'I hope he likes it...' The Canadian fell heavily onto his bed with a great sigh. He cuddled the small white bear close to himself.

"I can finally get a decent amount of sleep..." He smiled up at the ceiling. His thoughts kept numbly buzzing about what happened the night before. 'Why did I want him to stay with me so bad?' Matthew thought about it for a moment, before an unspoken word came to mind. 'Love?' "N-no it can't be... I practically just met him." A loud thump and loud laughing alerted Mattie that his brother was home from his shift at the coffee shop. He frowned all the thoughts of his friend gone, and replaced by a well earned sleep.

* * *

Ivan walked into the safe-house he found, and set a plastic bag onto the wooden table in the main room. He dropped the money he was 'borrowing' from the doctor's room, and fished his arm into the bag. The Russian pulled out a medium sized hardcover book, and opened it up, reading the first page and continuing on. The tall man pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the table, propping up his elbows on it. After reading about five pages he pulled out the other two books he bought. He had a English-Russian translator, to help him read the other books. The two other books were Birds of prey anatomy, and Human psychology. Ivan sighed, and rested his head on the desk, confused by all of the modern things and people he was faced with in the store today. 'Thank god Matvey promised to teach me some of the things I missed.' The thought of being isolated from the outside world for so long, made him shiver. 'It truly is inhuman...' Ivan felt himself slowly feeling more and more depressed by the second. For a few minutes he sat there thinking to himself while the sky darkened. His attention was brought up from the desk, as the room felt colder. 'How long was I out today?' The Russian yawned loudly, and rested his head back down on the table, his expression blank. 'I just need a minute of rest...' He felt his consciousness slipping away, before a very important thought crossed his mind. "Matvey! I'm supposed to meet him tonight!" Ivan grabbed the books and threw them into the plastic bag. He looked down at himself with a frown, then slipped off his coat, and wrapped at around his waist. His reflection in one of the broken mirror's made him sigh. 'I look terrible...' His eyes were blood shot, and dark circles bordered them, adding to the paling effect of his face. Even his wings looked sloppy, and in need of a grooming. The Russian shook his head and rushed out of the old abandoned house just in time as the sun fell out of sight.

Within the shadow's, an intense pair of blue eyes watched Ivan fly off.

"Vanya..."

* * *

A loud tapping on Mattie's window forced him awake.

"Hmm?" Matthew rolled out of bed and walked over to the light switch on the wall and flicked it on. He squinted his eyes and slid his glasses on. A familiar face in the window made the Canadian remember. "Oh, hey Ivan!" He said as the Russian opened the window. They both shared a smile while the large man slid through the small space.

"Privet Matvey. Did you sleep well?" Ivan asked as he sat down on Mattie's bed.

"More than usual." The blonde smiled, then titled his head to the side. "What's that?" He asked pointing to the plastic bag held in the Russian's hand. Ivan looked down at it and shrugged.

"I purchased a few books, I thought you might want to help me translate. I am not very accustomed to reading in English." Matthew walked over and sat down next to the other man, understanding stamped onto his face.

"What kind of books?" He asked as Ivan pulled out a dictionary.

"This isn't very helpful..." Ivan sighed with disappointment as he handed the book over to the Canadian. Mattie opened it, and instantly smiled.

"Of course it wouldn't help, this is a Spanish-Russian dictionary." Matthew leaned over and pointed to the word "Español" printed on the first page.

"O-oh..." Ivan's face glowed with embarrassment. Matthew sat there for a minute numbly thinking about nonsense, before an idea hit him like a smack to the face.

"I could read it..." Mattie paused for a minute embarrassed that he was even offering. "to you...?" He half asked himself and the Russian next to him.

"Da, that would be helpful. Thank you Matvey~" They both sat there for a while, Matthew grabbed the Birds of prey anatomy book and began to read out loud softly, so his brother wouldn't wake up. Every so often the Canadian would make a joke about what he was reading, and they would both be in a fit of laughter.

"W-wait so d-do you poop like a bird or a-a human?" Matthew asked laughing like a hyena. Ivan looked at him, and began to laugh so hard he fell onto the ground shaking. He held his sides, his cheeks turning red from laughing too much.

"N-no... That is... t-to good!" Mattie rolled off the bed too, and continued laughing next to the other man. They both calmed down after a whole minute of laughing, and smiled at each other, mischief gleaming in the other's eyes. A knock at the door made Matthew's heart skip a beat. 'Wait... No, no,no,no, this isn't happening!'

"Hey bro? You ok in there? I heard some laughing and pounding, your not doing... _you know what_ with someone are you?" Alfred asked behind the door with a suspicious tone.

"N-no... It's just a book I'm reading... That's all Al." Matthew was shaking all over, fear building up in his chest.

"Well you wouldn't mind if I came in then, would you?" The american asked, trying to act like a good brother and protect Mattie.

"N-no! That won't be necessary! I'm in bed." The blonde was already shoving Ivan into the closet, whispering apologies.

"I'm coming in." Alfred really didn't like loosing sleep over nothing.

"W-wait!" Matthew pleaded as the American opened the door. Alfred looked down at his brother's bed with a puzzled face. Mattie had grabbed one of the books from off of his bed and crawled into the covers just in time.

"Really?" The younger of the two took the book from his brother's hands and pointed to the cover. "Human Psychology? That stuff isn't funny."

"W-well It is to me, I don't judge you and your horror movies." Matthew grumbled and took the book back, with a scowl.

"Whatever. Just be quiet please, I have the early morning shift tomorrow." Alfred rubbed his temples, aggravated. 'I have the weirdest brother in the world...'

"Goodnight Alfie." The Canadian patted his brother's hand and resumed to 'read' the book in his hands. Alfred sighed heavily and walked out of the room.

"Ya, ya night bro."

'Now you know how I feel around you ALL DAY.' Mattie turned his attention to the closet and whispered. "You can come out now." The door swung open to reveal his friend, covered in dirty clothes.

"I tripped..." The Russian muttered, pulling a worn shirt off his head.

"Could you grab that box from in there too?" The blonde asked, his excitement building up.

"What is it?" Ivan asked lifting the box up and looking it over with childish curiosity.

"A gift for you~" Mattie hummed happily.

"Hmm?" Ivan slowly lifted the top off, a smile slowly spreading across his face. What lie in the box was a long pinkish-beige scarf,neatly placed with care."Matvey is so thoughtful, da?" He set the box down on Mattie's dresser and held the scarf to his chest with the other hand.

"Do you like it?" Matthew already knew the answer, but enjoyed hearing it from his Russian friend.

"Da, I love it~" The taller man wrapped it around his neck, with a content sigh.

The rest of the night, they talked about how things were different in each other's era, and other simple stuff. When dawn came, Matthew felt happier than the last few times to let his friend go.

"Same time tonight?"

"Ya, I'll see you then!" Ivan flew off, just as happy as Mattie had been.

**Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes, I was really tired updating this at 11 at night. I couldn't think of where I was going with the plot for a while today. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites guys! Until next update~**


	5. Joy Ride

**Sorry for a late update guys, I've been putting off my work, and It kinda caught up with me. :/ So many pretests and assignments to help you remember shit you definately forgot over the summer.**

Chapter 5 Joy ride

"Can we please tell my brother yet?" Matthew begged the man under his bed.

A pair of violet eyes blinked, and he responded, "Nyet, If anyone knows I exist, they'll get the government involved, and they'll take me back to the Asylum!" Ivan's voice was lined with fear. Mattie sighed and shook his head.

"Could you at least come out from under there?" The Canadian crouched down onto his hands and knees, and thrust his hand under the bed.

"N-Nyet I don't feel well-" His sentence was cut off by a loud growl. Matthew raised and eyebrow, a small smirk growing on his face. If it wasn't so dark under the bed, he would have seen the taint of red on Ivan's cheeks.

"Do you want me to go get you something to eat?" Mattie pointed to the door to emphasize his offer.

"I'm ok, I'll catch something at the house later." The Russian crawled out from under the mattress and dusted himself off.

"I don't know how long that will be, you've been stuck here for the past few days because of storms. How much longer do you think you can hold out?" The blonde felt a little worried for his friend's health.

"I survived underground for longer without food." Ivan shrugged. Matthew rolled his eyes, and grabbed the other man's wrist. He pulled on it gently, and the Russian grumbled.

"C'mon I'm getting you some breakfast right now!" Ivan sighed, and followed after the blonde looking unconvinced. Mattie led them both down the stairs into the kitchen, and sat his tall friend down at the dining table. "Wait here, I'll make you some pancakes when I get back." The Canadian smiled, and walked back up to his room to get changed for the day.

Ivan sighed and looked out of the window, if it weren't thundering outside, it would probably be way past dawn. He turned his attention over to the large white box on the other side of the room. 'I wonder what kind of madness that is?' The Russian glanced over his shoulder in the direction that Matthew disappeared in, and quietly tread over to it, inspecting it carefully. He looked at the long handle on it and frowned in confusion. Ivan pulled it open, a smile instantly lit his face.

"I haven't seen anything like this before!" He whispered to himself in awe. His arm snaked around all of the food, until he reached a large bottle in the back. The tall man's face lit up with joy, "Bодка!" Memories of his childhood came to mind, warming his whole body. 'I remember stealing some of my father's when I was younger~' He stood in thought for a minute, 'I hope Matvey won't mind.' Ivan tipped his head back and chugged the alcohol happily. He closed the door to the refrigerator, and walked back over to the table and sat down. The Russian's stomach was nice and warm, and his cheeks were fading pink, "I love you Bодка~"

Mattie pulled his jeans over his waist, and walked out of the bedroom door, a small smile on his face. 'I haven't made anyone pancakes other than myself in forever!' When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard slurred speaking, and panicked. 'Oh I hope one of Alfred's friends didn't see Ivan!' He ran into the dining room in record time expecting multiple people, and face-palmed. Ivan was sitting alone drinking Al's vodka and talking to himself.

"Really Ivan?" Matthew asked while taking the bottle from his friend's flailing hands. The extremely light weight in his hand made him frown a little. "I guess they really mean it when they say that vodka is Russian water, eh?"

"Da, It is true." The taller man smiled up at Mattie, "Can I have another?" Ivan's expression was softer, and more relaxed than usual from the alcohol. The Canadian sighed, setting the bottle down, and walking back to the fridge to get another bottle of his brother's vodka. 'He's so funny when he's drunk.' Matthew giggled to himself, and returned a full bottle to his friend.

"I'll go start the pancakes, I hope you'll survive with this one until then." The blonde smirked, at the thankful look on the Russian's face.

"Spasibo Matvey~" Ivan hummed, and opened the full bottle. He began to drink it slowly, savoring the burn it left in his throat. Mattie turned off the burner, and flipped the final three pancakes onto an already past full plate. He walked into the dining room holding a bottle of maple syrup in one hand and the plate of the fluffy treats in the other. The Canadian let out a small giggle at the Russian's child-like reaction. His eyes were as big as saucers, and he looked almost about to drool, he let out a small gasp in awe.

"Here you are my Russian friend~" Matthew set two plates down, and shoveled a generous amount of pancakes onto the others plate. He then sat down in his own chair to enjoy his breakfast. Without a seconds hesitation they both began to dig in, enjoying the delicious breakfast like it was there last meal.

"Matvey is a very good cook, da?" Ivan politely swallowed before he complimented the Canadian. Matthew's face flushed light pink.

"T-Thank you." He smiled, 'I've never heard anyone other than Al say that about my cooking.'

"You should cook like this more often then~!" The Russian smiled kindly towards Mattie.

'Oh I must have said that out loud...' They both continued to enjoy their meal, before the sound of a door swinging open, and a loud voice cut into their shared silence.

"Hey Mattie! They let me off my shift early tod-" The american walked into the dining room, his face changed from cheery to blank within a heartbeat. Both of the other men were frozen in fear, Matthew still holding his fork up to his mouth. Alfred looked over to Ivan, then Mattie, then Ivan's back. "Nope, I must've fallen asleep at the coffee machine again..." As quickly as he came in, he walked back out of the front door, closing it behind himself. The Canadian looked towards the door in shock, then began to laugh nervously. Ivan chuckled whole heartedly.

"Your brother is funny, da?"

"Ya he isn't really a great morning person." Mattie finished his plate, and walked over to the dishwasher.

"Would you like help cleaning the dishes?" The Russian asked as he too walked over to the dishwasher with an empty plate.

"O-oh that's ok, I just kind of set it in here and turn on the machine." The Canadian felt a little bad for Ivan.

"Alright then." Ivan shrugged and looked out of the window. His heart sank, 'I was having such a nice time hanging out with Matvey...' He sighed at the dull morning sun breaking through the clouds, and walked upstairs to retrieve his scarf and coat. Matthew noticed his friends movements, and looked out the window.

"You know Ivan, we should go out for a walk somewhere. It's nice out." Mattie tried to project his voice loud enough to reach his friend who was trudging up the stairs.

"That sounds great Matvey, I'll just go get my clothes. I know of the perfect place to go." Ivan yelled down, and proceeded to walk into the Canadian's room.

Mattie smiled, 'This might be fun, eh?' A minute later Ivan walked out of Matthew's room, and down the stairs, wearing his scarf around his neck. A small hint of excitement blossomed in the blonde's head, 'He's not wearing the coat, I bet I'll be going for a flight!'

The Russian noticed Matthew's bouncing excitement, and hid his smile under his scarf. 'Matvey is so cute~' He didn't know if it was the alcohol doing it or not, but he liked that feeling.

"So were is this.. Special place at?" The blonde asked curiously.

"You'll see, it's very beautiful." Ivan smiled and lead Matthew out of the front door. The Russian stopped a few feet from the house and tested his wings, with a few flaps. He turned to Matthew a small smile stretched across his face. "How does Matvey want to fly?" The tall man asked motioning to the Blonde. Mattie stopped in thought, and nodded to himself.

"Bridal style...?" Matthew blushed at the mention of such a subject. "

"Okay." With a little more of a warning this time, Ivan lifted the Canadian up in his preferred position. With one quick motion, the Russian flapped his wings simultaneously with the power of a large beast.

"Woooooaaaah!" Mattie yelled in shock and excitement.

The Russian smiled down at the blonde in his arms, "This is fun, da?"

"Holy Maple! This is amazing! I am so jealous!" Matthew screamed, wrapping one of his arms around his friend's neck and the other flailing around in the air. Ivan smiled wider, and dipped and soared, adding to the Canadian's joyous shouts. The winged man continued to slowly spin around in the air for about half an hour, almost reaching into the clouds. Happy laughter spilled out from the both of them, when Ivan lifted Mattie high enough to touch the fluffy white masses. The Russian stopped swirling around in the air, and hovered in one spot.

"Is Matvey ready to land?" He asked pushing the hair out of Mattie's eyes.

"Y-ya, I'm ready." Matthew was shaking in a mixture of fear, anticipation, and excitement.

"Hold tight, I haven't landed like this yet..." Ivan gave a short warning, before turning downwards, and falling like a bullet. The blonde in his arms let out short silent screams of terror, they were plummeting to their deaths! The air all around them was stinging his eyes, and making it hard to breathe. He suddenly felt the air catch beneath himself, and he dared look down, and back up at the Russian holding him. The younger man's eyes streatched wide with astonishment. Ivan had his wings outstretched, and they were flapping gently, letting the two men down with ease. "See Matvey I wouldn't ever hurt you~" The taller man cooed.

"T-t-that w-was a g-good landing I-I have to say..." The poor Canadian was shaking from his free-fall. Ivan smiled apologetically, and grabbed Matthew into a careful embrace.

"Sorry for the scare..." With shaky hands, the blonde slowly returned the hug. He slowly started to calm down, though he was still filled with adrenaline. "Let us walk now, da?" Ivan asked, pulling back from their hug.

"S-sure." Mattie hadn't noticed their surroundings until now. There was trees, grass, and large rocks strewn out everywhere, he could swear he also heard running water. The tall Russian led Matthew around, his smile never faltering. They both talked, and talked, like old friends meeting for the first time in decades, enjoying the fresh air, and each other's company. Hours passed, though it was still bright out when they reached a large clearing with enormous river's and streams flowing along side it. There was a small patch of sunflowers off to the side, almost as if to complete an artist's piece. "Ivan... this, this in beautiful. How did you find this place?" Mattie gasped in awe, at the scene.

"Da, it is beautiful isn't it? I found it while flying around looking for you." The tall man patted the ground for his friend to sit down. "I will be right back, I have to go use the restroom. I'll be right back to show you the most beautiful part of this place." Ivan smiled down at the Canadian to show his sencierity.

"I don't know if this place can get much better..." Mattie giggled, and nodded towards the taller man. "Okay. As long as your back to show me before I find it for myself." They both shared a smile, as the Russian strode back into the wooded area.

Ivan stopped behind a tree to relieve himself, far out of sight of his friend. For the second and final time, he had made the mistake on not noticing the harsh blue eyes watching him.

"I knew you would come here Vanya..." The female voice whispered with a chilling tone.

**I might take just as long to update the next chapter. :3 Until next update~**


	6. Heartless Creatures

**Has anyone seen my turkey sandwich? **

Chapter 6 Heartless Creatures

Ivan stepped away from the tree with a hopeful expression. 'I hope Matvey likes fireflies.' He smiled up at the darkening sky, his eyes sparkling. The Russian's moment of joy was instantly killed when he heard a loud snap of a twig. His head quickly turned to the tree behind him.

"Matvey?" Ivan asked, his face lightly dusted pink. Another rustling in the bushes next to him, made his attention snap to them. A long five minutes passed, before something grabbed at his scarf. The tall Russian turned his head to the side to see a man grabbing it. "T-toris?"

The brunette pulled the fine cloth with the strength of an ox. Ivan fell down to the ground pulling at the constricting object around his neck. He heard leaves crunching off to the other side of him and swivled his head. The figure of a woman was just barely visible in the setting sun. She lifted up a small object and a bright light surrounded the three of them. A lantern. Ivan looked up at her face and let out a string of raspy "Kols."

"Hello Mr. Braginsky. I am sure you remember me, yes?" She asked, a cruel smile spreading across her gentle looking features. Said Russian looked to the ground in remembrance, and looked back up hatred burning in his eyes.

"The devil's heir." Ivan choked out angrily.

"Oh, that isn't a very nice thing to say to your future wife." The light-haired woman kneeled down to his face, and cupped his cheeks in her hands. The man pulled away, just to be deprived of more oxygen. "Naughty Vanya, we don't want you choking to death now, do we?" Her grip on his face tightened to the point that Ivan knew it was going to bruise, jut like his neck. The Russian gritted his teeth as black dots danced around his vision. A few times he had slipped in and out of consciousness, cutting out the conversation that the she-beast was rambling on about. One sentence in particular caught his full attention. "...you do know the heart wanders. So... we will be getting rid of that problem~" The woman happily hummed as her cold hand drifted from his face down to his chest, and tapped it. Ivan flinched at it's touch, as if it were fire. "Is little Ivan scared?" She asked as she rested her head onto his bare chest.

The Russian's eyes were wide with fear,

'This crazy bitch isn't doing what I think she is...' His mind raced with terrible thoughts and outcomes to what she was going to do. He felt his heart pounding under her head, and prayed to god that she wasn't going to do what she was implying.

"Toris, hold him steady while I _help_ him."

The brunette stopped spacing out, and frowned down at the victim in his grip. He pulled the cloth tighter on Ivan, and leaned down towards the Russian's ear.

"I'm s-sorry."

Ivan felt like ripping the poor man's throat out, and tying it around the woman on top of him. His _happy_ thoughts were interrupted by something even colder meeting his skin. Ivan let out a thundering screech of pain, but was quickly silenced by a hand clutched tightly around his mouth. The snowy haired man could feel the metal pressed against his chest run downwards, opening him up. A soft whisper came from his attacker.

Ivan could just make it out, "I love you...~" Slender hands came up to his face, and rubbed a warm sticky substance onto his cheeks. The Russian felt like he was going to vomit, or pass out, or both. The hands, went back down to his chest, and slowly reached inside. An explosive pain burst in Ivan's center, as he felt and heard the breaking his rips. "We must make room, yes?" The monster before him giggled sweetly, and continued until she was elbow-deep inside of him. "Ah there we go~" having something touch your beating heart is the most pain you could EVER experience. Ivan gasped in agony as he felt a violent tug, and heard a sickening suction sound. Memories from the Asylum flooded his mind, causing him to convulse. The light haired woman pulled her arms out of his chest, and laughed like a hyena. In her hands was none other than his still beating heart. The Russian was silent, the pain paralyzing him, and tearing at his very soul. "I-It's even more gorgeous than I expected..." The woman gasped in awe at the muscle. "It's a pity I must destroy something of such _beauty_..." She turned her gaze back to the brunette who was choking the Russian, a horrific smile tugging at her lips. "Are you ready to hold him down Toris?"

Toris stared in horror at what Natalya was planning on doing with his old friend. He couldn't help but think of all the times they had both planned on ways to escape the Asylum together. Though neither one of them were victorious, It was a sort of pass time in that hell. He felt sorry for Ivan, they are both finally free, but the Russian is still tied to the mental institution in some way. 'Why did I have to be a pussy, and not stand up for myself?' The Lithuanian shivered, remembering her words.

* * *

"You will help me get what I want, and you will be set free from this place." The long haired woman stared down at the brunette. He was dressed in a straight jacket, and plain white pants that were too big for him. Toris stared up at her, his dull green eyes showing no emotion, and grunted.

"Why should I trust the doctor's daughter?" He asked turning his head back to the ground in an uninterested manner. She walked over to him and frowned.

"Oh but don't you wan't to please me?" Natalya pulled his chin up and stared into his eyes, adding that fake cuteness she was born with. As expected, he melted like chocolate, his whole body shaking violently.

"F-f-fine. I-i'll h-help you. On the inside he would rather rot down here than go away with this she-beast. Though a natural instinct inside of him told him to take the offered hand and leave.

"Why thank you Toris~! I'll get you out of those bindings, and out of here in no time..." Natalya coated her last statement in sweetness, hoping to melt the Lithuanian even more.

He shivered as the cell door closed with a loud thud, 'At what price is my freedom?'

* * *

Now he knew, the price for his freedom was Ivan's heart. It made the brunette feel hollow on the inside, 'He has to suffer for my benefit.' At that moment he knew what was the right thing to do, let go. Without a second thought, Toris released his grip on the writhing man, and ran for his life. Gasps echoed into the night, mostly for air and from pain, and some from utter shock and anger.

"TORIS YOU BASTARD!" A devilish screech split the air, alarming the fleeing man.

Ivan looked up from the ground where he was dropped, and grumbled. "You sure are loud for an innocent little girl..." He coughed up a small amount of blood onto his already bloodstained chest. The gaping hole was already closing up with the unnatural cracking and crunching of the rearranging bones. Natalya snapped her attention back down at the man, her eyes burning with anger.

"Shut your miserable mouth!" The light haired woman thundered, and squeezed her grip around the pulsating organ in her hands. In immediate response to her action, Ivan roared in pain, crumpling into himself. He gripped his chest, and gritted his teeth, only sparing her a poisonous glare. She kneeled back down in front of him, grinning madly. "You know what I'm going to do now?" Ivan looked up at her face, and smirked.

"Are we going to play house? I'm sure you would like that, da?" He coughed again with a low groan. Natalya gave a small fake giggle and shook her head.

"No, much, much, more exciting." She waved the red mass in her hands in his face. "We're going to make sure you will only be able to love me~" Ivan froze, his expression going from smug, to concern and desperation. The woman smiled wider at that, and backed away a little, holding the organ above her head. It all wen't by in seconds, but it felt like eternity for the poor Russian. She dropped his heart to the ground, watching him pull back hissing in pain. "Oh, the pain hasn't started just yet~" Slowly Natalya lifted the heel of her dress shoes, enjoying how his disembodied heart beat faster. As fast as lightning, she brought the sharpest part of her high heel down upon the soft flesh, bursting it on impact. Ivan pulled back and screamed louder than anyone has ever done in recorded history. He convulsed more violently then before, thrashing dirt and grass up off the ground. The burning pain felt like someone had lit a fire inside of him,and it was slowly eating away at his insides.

Natalya watched, a small bit of concern flashing in her eyes before something felt off. The air stood still as the convulsing man slowly stiffened, and eventually stopped moving. She looked down, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Vanya? A-are you ok?" Her voice was thick with emotion. "Please, don't leave me!" The blue eyed woman fell to her knees in his blood, leaning against his slowly cooling body. She ran her fingers through his silky black wings, tears dripping from her face and onto his bloodstained torso. "P-please, d-don't die..." Natalya sat there for what felt like forever before she heard a low muffled grumble come from underneath her. "V-Vanya!?" She felt Ivan's arm lift up from under her crying form, and reach up to rub his head. He shook her off of himself, and arose from his lying position. His eyes burned a dark redish violet, and his whole body shook with anger.

"I'm going to skin you alive and make a nice coat from your hide." Even though his words were threatening, his crazed smile was enough to scare anyone. The woman backed away, fear starting to build up in her chest.

"T-that's very funny Ivan, not the best thing to say to your wife-to-be though..." She laughed nervously, keeping her eyes locked on his face. The Russian smiled wider, and stood up gracefully, towering high above her.

"I am not one to be humorous." His tone was cold, and dry of any emotion. He pursed his lips to hide a growl of frustration. Natalya gulped, realizing the big mistake she had made. In seconds, his hand was wrapped around her neck, forcing her to let out a weak whimper. "Since you haven't been damned by the gods and sent to hell yet, _I_ will be your Judgement." The Russian's voice was not like his own, void of anything but smooth clean hatred.

"P-please I just wanted you to love me..." Natalya sputtered, tears streaming down her face and onto his hand. Ivan lowered his gaze, his smile returning.

"When I'm done with you, not even the buzzards will love you~" On the inside, his mind was having a war between insanity, and humanity. Currently insanity was dominant, blocking out any humane way of dealing with the girl. His grip on her neck was bone-crushingly painful for it's recipient, thoroughly entertaining the Russian. "When you see your precious little daddy in hell, tell him I said hello." Ivan slowly began to snap her spine in the most painful way he could think of, chuckling at her squeaks and sobs.

"W-wait! Ivan! What are you doing!?" A soft voice called from behind the Russian, causing him to freeze.

**Dun dun dun-! I've been exhausted from homework lately so sorry about later chapters_!_ Until next update~**


	7. Who?

**A new chapta fo ya.**

Chapter 7 Who?

Matthew stared in shock at his Russian friend as he choked an innocent woman. Blood was sprayed all over everything, including the two individuals before him. He'd come this way because he heard screaming, and angered yells, not expecting them to be inflicted by Ivan.

"W-why...? Stop it! You'll kill her!" Mattie yelled, striding forward with his hands in front of him defensively. Ivan stared at the blonde his eyes dark, and his teeth gritted.

"That's the point. Go away Matvey, before you're next!" Ivan tightened his grip on Natalya's neck, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. "She will get what is coming to her~" The woman's hyperventilating gasps became labored, and a tear rolled down her face.  
Matthew had enough of watching this, 'I can't believe he was a monster all along...' He charged forward, crashing all of his weight into the taller man in hopes that it would at least cause him to drop the girl. Ivan let out a startled grunt, and fell to the ground, dropping his victim. She gasped for air as her body hit solid ground, and she fell unconscious. The Russian pushed himself up to look at his attacker with a terrible smile. The dirt and blood staining his grotesque features made Matthew question if this was the same man he had met before.

"Matvey has a death wish, da?" Ivan began to slowly inch over to the blonde, his knuckles white with the anger he was bottling up. Mattie backed up a few steps every time the man was almost within arms length. "Stop stepping away from me little one~" the taller man cooed. The blonde turned around and ran as quickly as his feet could carry him. "Come back to me my little ангел~" Ivan's voice echoed from all around him. He continued to pump his legs, just dodging trees by mere centimeters. Matthew's golden hair made it hard to see his surroundings, and he turned right into a dead end. The Canadian shook like a dog, all of his senses told him to keep running, but something felt... off. Matthew squeaked as a gentle hand gripped his arm from behind. He felt their grip tighten, and his body jerked to a surrounding bush. Mattie's attention was turned to a thin figure, his face lit up by the moonlight. He had short brown hair, with emerald-green eyes that were filled with fear.

"Y-your going to get yourself k-killed! Do you know what fortune the black bird brings!?" The man's voice shook every few words adding to his coward-like image. Mattie stuttered in response with his own horrified expression splayed out across his face.

"W-who are you?"

The older man shook his head, "My name is Toris, I used to know Ivan before you." Matthew nodded slowly before pushing himself back a little a puzzled look on his face.

"How do you know Ivan? And how do you know when we met?" A loud cackle hit their ears, and made them both jump. 'It sounded far enough to talk in a low whisper.' When they both calmed down enough to speak, Toris answered the blonde's questions.

"We were both friends back at the Asylum. I am assuming you know of that place, yes?"

"Y-yes." Matthew looked behind himself as more laughter filled the air a little closer than before.

"W-well the doctor's daughter and I have been following you two ever since we heard of Mr. Braginsky's absence." The brunette looked down to the ground in shame. "She allowed me freedom if I was to assist her in her 'errands.'" A long depressive scowl spread across his face, 'If only I knew the cruel woman would go this far.' Mattie stood there silently, comprehending this new knowledge. 'So that must mean...' His thoughts were cut short by another loud spout of laughter, but dangerously close.

"Matvey~ Come out and play~ Your death wont hurt /that/ bad." The Russian's voice was dripping with fake innocence.

"Please hurry, I will explain more later." The Lithuanian grabbed Matthew by the arm again and pulled him along as fast as he could. They both weaved through the trees, and bushes, quickly leaving behind the lurking danger behind them. Any exposed skin was filled with cuts, and stinging from burrs and pine nettles. Both men eventually stopped at a large clearing, breathing heavily. A pang of guilt hit the Canadian at the thought of what he was currently doing. 'I'm running away from my... No I can't think that anymore...' Unknowingly, he allowed a scowl to spread across his face. 'We /were/ friends.' Toris took notice to the blonde's sulking, and explained the situation.

"That's not Ivan." He sat down on the frosty grass, and sighed. Mattie gave a puzzled look, and sat down next to the older man.

"W-what do you mean? Who is he then?" A fresh feeling of regret flushed over him. 'Who is he if he isn't Ivan?' The Lithuanian sat there silently before a thought crossed his mind.

"He hasn't acted like this since he was injected with the virus..." Toris shook his head, and began to shake again. A long pause was followed by desperate whispers."W-what has she done?!" Matthew watched as the man had an episode right in front of him, feeling his own fears creep up on him.

"What are you talking about? I thought he was just tested with bird DNA?" Mattie tried his hardest to remember the important words Ivan had told him back at the Asylum. 'He broke that metal...'

{"It isn't just bird DNA that they used on me."}

It hit him like a freight train, 'Ivan...' He looked over to the shaking brunette and desperately shook his shoulders. "What did they do to him!?" His voice was louder than usual, scaring some perched birds from the trees. Unknowingly, he had scared the poor man out of his skin, as he was remembering terrible memories. Toris yelped, and pushed away from the Canadian.

"I-I-I don't really know! All I know is that it is some sort of defense mechanism." Matthew was bewildered, and a little ticked off. 'What caused his reaction...?' A realization came to mind and he gasped out loud.

"The doctor's daughter! What did she do?!" Millions of scenarios buzzed in his head, making him shake like a dog. It was silent for a few minutes, both men staring at each other, before the Lithuanian looked down at the ground shamefully.

"Her love for him was dangerous. Too dangerous." Toris felt a pang of sadness at the thought of his true love wanting someone else. When he spoke again his voice was thick with emotion, "She took his heart..." The brunette looked up at Matthew his eyes a duller color. "And she was planning on destroying it."Mattie was speechless, frozen in place in shock.

"W-what?! T-that's not-" The blonde was interrupted by a cold feeling on his shoulder. Torris shifted his gaze from the boy's face to his shoulder, fear once again building up inside him. He stuttered and pointed towards the large pale hand rested menacingly on the Canadian's shoulder. Mattie slowly turned his head, to be met with a ghostly white face. Instantly his body surged with the need to get away, but to his dismay, the hand tightened into a bone shattering grip. It successfully shattered his shoulder within seconds, causing the blonde to screech out in pain.

"Bad little Matvey, you should have listened and done what you were told~" A chilling voice whispered into his ear, before throwing Matthew into the nearest tree like a rag doll. The blonde didn't have time to react before his head hit solid bark, making his vision swirl. All Mattie could see was a face getting really close to his, he didn't have to have clear vision to know that it was Ivan. He strived to stay awake, but the dark claws if unconsciousness pulled him in. His head lolled over, and his body went numb.  
Ivan smiled at his victim, 'you should not have betrayed me...' He brought up his fist, filling it with the unnatural power he was 'gifted' with. "Farewell Matv-" The Russian felt cold metal pressed against the back of his skull. He knew that feeling, 'a gun.' Ivan didn't even flinch at the sound of someone cocking the gun.

"Don't touch the boy, I-I am the one you must punish." Came a shaky voice that Ivan knew all too well. He slowly turned his head, his expression calm.

"Wait your turn Toris, it's rude to interrupt." They both stared each other down, waiting for the other to fall over and die. The Russian searched the brunette's face for any sign of fear, but failed. "So, you've finally grown a back bone, da?" A smug look crossed his face, at the fury in the other man's eyes.

"I have one when I need it." The Lithuanian's voice was stern, and uncharacteristic. Ivan looked at him unbelieving the ruse in front of him.

"Really? Then let us test this 'backbone.'" The taller man stood up from his kneeling position, and looked down at his opponent. His wings spread out, shadowing the two from the light of dawn. Toris's gaze shifted to the ground, and he lowered his gun in defeat, before asking a simple question.

"It's sore... isn't it?" Ivan crouched down to look at the Lithuanian's face, his red-violet eyes glowing in the shade. A sinister smile stretched across his face from ear to ear.

"What?"

"It is, I know it is. Your in pain." Toris looked up, his face and eyes showing no emotion. "It hurts you." The taller man stepped forward challengingly.

"What is this nonsense?" Ivan lunged forward as the brunette dodged it. "You wont have that precious little backbone when I'm done with it~" the Russian lunged forward again, his eyes burning with fury.

Toris's quick reaction was to pull the gun up from his side, and aimed for Ivan's chest. In a couple of heartbeats, the whole world around them was engulfed in a bright light, and a loud explosion spilled out from the gun's barrel. The whole event felt like it was in slow-motion as both men were separated by the blast. The brunette pulled back, his ears ringing. His eyes were closed, in fear of what he might see. Slowly, he opened them and looked down as he heard a thud. Ivan lay crumpled before him, gasping in agony. Blood dripped from his mouth, and pooled under his body.

"Y-you bastard..." The Russian's voice trailed off and he eventually fell silent. The only sound other than his labored breathing was the injured Canadian waking up.

"Ugh," Mattie rubbed his head with a pained look. "What happened?" He pushed himself off the ground with one arm, and looked over in the direction Toris was standing. A big lump sat in front of the figure, striking fresh fear in him again. 'Please have nobody dead' Matthew prayed, before walking over with his arm held tightly against himself. He felt some relief as he saw that it wasn't Ivan standing over Toris, but the other way around. His relief was short lived as he realized what that meant. The blonde quickly rushed over to the body on the ground, and turned it over, afraid that he was too late. He was reassured by the grumble the Russian gave, and he looked up to Toris. "What happened?" Toris slowly knelt down beside him, and sighed.

"He came after me, so I had to protect myself." Emerald eyes drifted to the bullet hole that bore into the other man's chest. "Don't worry, there wasn't anything there for me to kill him." There was silence for a while before the Lithuanian turned to Mattie with concern in his eyes. "Is your shoulder ok?" He asked pointing towards the extremity. Matthew looked over towards it, and gave a sarcastic smile.

"It doesn't feel very pleasant, that much I can tell you." Toris frowned and set his hand on it gently. Mattie pulled back with a hiss of pain.

"S-sorry, just checking how bad it is. You should really get that fixed when we get out of here" The older man stated, before looking back at the Russian sadly.

"Y-ya..."

Ivan began to wake up, his head pounding. He lifted his head from the cold earth, and opened his eyes to see the world before him. Two faces looked down at him, spooking him a bit before he realized who they were.

"Toris? Matvey?" They both shifted backwards to give the tall man space to get up. He did so, and looked around confused.

"A-are you feeling alright?" Mattie asked backing up a little more just in case the man felt like lashing out at him.

Ivan "hmmed" and looked down at himself, intrigued by the sticky feeling all over his body. After a few moments he saw the hole in his chest, and smiled up at the other two."It is just a flesh wound, da?" Ivan didn't know why, but he felt a little hollow for some reason.

**Silly me, Toris is back! (an a little bad-ass too!)**

**Me: "Helloooo Toris~"**

**Toris: *hides***


	8. The Doctor

**I am EXTREMELY sorry for not posting this chapter sooner! I've been in bed all week with the flu and I felt too skunky to write. :C WARNING there may be errors 'n' stuff. I'll probably fix them all later... maybe :3 P.S. Yes this chapter's name is a Dr. Who reference ;)**

Chapter 8 The Doctor

All three men began to walk towards the direction they came from in silence. Ivan occasionally side glanced at Matthew, with a frown. His eyes clouded as the memories of what he did and what caused it all slowly fabricated in his mind. The Russian opened his mouth to say something, but closed it in thought. As if to urge him to ask, Mattie groaned in pain, and readjusted his arm against his chest. Ivan stopped, and turned to Torris, "It happened again, didn't it?" Both men came to a stop and looked back at the taller man.

"Hmm?..." He followed Ivan's gaze and blinked his eyes in realization. "Oh, w-well..." The brunette rubbed his neck awkwardly. He waited a minute, considering his answer. "Y-yes." Torris' gaze flicked over to Mattie, who looked confused, then back at his old friend. Ivan starred down at the ground, an angered expression crossing his features.

"I let it happen, again..." He slid his fingers through his bloodied starlight hair, his nails digging into his scalp. "Why do I hurt everyone?" He shivered, afraid of himself, and oblivious to his surroundings at the moment. All he wanted to do was go back to the Asylum where he couldn't hurt anyone ever again. He could remember the day that they deemed him a failed experiment.

* * *

"He's to dangerous, we've lost too many personnel to that beast."

"I think it's time we had him put down."

Two nurses outside Ivan's cell conversed about talking to the head doctor about the Russian's crimes. He grumbled and shifted his head against the wall again to sleep. Ivan wouldn't let their words get to him.  
A few hours later, when he awoke, he was called in for a 'checkup' on his progress. The Russian walked through the halls, a white-coat on either side of him. His gaze lingered from ahead of him to the cell door he was about to pass.

'Toris.' A brunette sat inside, his emerald gaze flashing towards the Russian for a split second. Toris gave a sympathetic frown and nodded in respect before Ivan was lead to the door a few feet in front of him. One of the white-coats reached forward, and pushed the wooden office door open to reveal the putrid room ahead. An uneasy feeling blossomed in the tall man's stomach as he saw the birds dissected on the walls. 'I'm sorry my friends...' He was pushed onto the desk harshly, and held there while one of the men walked up to the wall. They cleared their throat and called out the Russians name, knocking a secret code onto the polished wood.

"Eyevan Braginsky, here for his special appointment." Ivan cringed at the mispronunciation of his name. The wall creaked with the sound of old wood, and rectangular line cut around an area the size of a door. A blonde man walked in wearing a lab coat, a few strands of white hair covering his glasses. They turned towards the silver haired patient, and smiled.

"Ivan m'boy I haven't seen you in a while! How are the wings coming along? Comfortable?" The aging man chucked as he walked over to Ivan. "Thank you boys, you are dismissed." He waved his hand dismissively and grabbed his patient by the shoulder and lead him into the secret room. The two white-coats looked at each other and shrugged before doing as they were told.  
Ivan stared in awe at all of the blades on the wall, and on small metal dishes. Even in the dim overhead lights, he could see how incredibly sharp the weapons were.

'I wonder if maybe he'll remove my jacket today?' A sick joy crept into his mind, before he quickly pushed it away. 'The doctor isn't that foolish.' The greying blonde strode over to the tools, and picked up a few, laying them by a metal table. He patted the iron surface with his hand encouragingly.

"Come on Ivan don't be shy~ It's not like I'm going to kill one of my most valuable patients." The doctor's face was painted with a crooked smile, adding to the creepiness of his statement.

'Like I'd ever trust a demon like you!' Ivan thought bitterly, narrowing his eyes at the man. Without thinking twice, Ivan turned around and threw all of his weight into the door. To his disappointment It creaked, but didn't even budge. He wanted to scream for help, but he knew that, down here, no one with a soul would hear him. Repeatedly the Russian pounded on the door, denting and misshaping the wood. A tisk came from behind him, and he almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of the doctor right behind him.

"Watch your manners Ivan, that was very rude. Come, accept your fate with pride." The doctor grabbed Ivan's arm and the Russian didn't fight it, his body frozen in fear of what was to become of him. He was pulled over to a metal table and thrown against it, the air in his lungs getting forced out. Before he could react, his neck, torso, and legs were bound by metal claps rendering him motionless. He growled and looked up at the doctor who was sharpening one of his knives. The blonde looked back down at Ivan and shook his head. "Silly me, I left your coat on~" To the Russian's displeasure, the doctor reached down and started to unbutton and unwrap the coat. Both of their faces were close, too close for Ivan. He could feel the other man's hot breath on his cheeks and forehead. It smelt of rot, and cigars, filling his lungs with the poisonous air. "Better~" The doctor stood up straight, pulling the coat with him and setting it on a hanger. Ivan tried to outstretch his arms, but they had grown weak with misuse. He turned back to Ivan before a sparkle of amusement flashed into his dull brown eyes. The blonde shifted over to the side table and grabbed a thick navy blue cloth. He leaned down towards the Russian and got up close to his face, pulling the cloth over his eyes. Ivan thrashed his head around in protest until he felt the cloth tighten and the doctor back up. "See no evil~" A sneer voice came from next to the patient. The sound of his rapidly pounding pulse made the doctor's words almost incoherent.

'Please be killing me... Please end it all right now." The blindfolded man begged in his mind, giving up on life. The cloth felt wet against his skin, and he realized he was crying out of desperation. The sound of metal clanking together hit his ears before a voice whispered into his ear.

"Lets get started, shall we?" Before the Russian could comprehend what was just said to him, an hot pain sliced down his chest. At that moment, all he wanted to do was scream, but something strange happened. As he was slowly being cut open for the whole world to see, he laughed. He couldn't hold back the laughter spouting from under his muzzle. It was scratchy and hysterical, adding to the pain sparking up his spine. Every time he shook in laughter, it made his insides churn, and more blood dripped onto the table. He could feel his ribs, and organs getting poked around and rearranged. Deep within his mind, he felt the deep urge to kill anything and everything, but it was silenced by the sudden explosion that wracked his whole body. Ivan laughed louder as he felt the sharp pain of a needle in his shoulder. He thrashed his whole body around in a fit of madness, until he suddenly felt extremely tired. His laughter began to fade as his eyes slowly drooped shut. "Good night."

* * *

The Russian stood in sudden silence to his whispering and muttering. He was breathing heavily in panic making the whole world around him shake violently. A weight on his shoulder made him jump and look behind himself fearfully. He was met by a soft face outlined in angelic golden strands, their lavender eyes staring right into his. Ivan's arm was clutched to he chest where a lightly bleeding bullet hole stain his skin. 'Toris you bastard, you knew it would bring back painful memories...'

"I-Ivan? Are you ok?" They both crouched down, Ivan was still trying to shake away his memories while Matthew tried to calm him down. Torris stood a few feet away watching silently, he couldn't help but allow a small smile onto his face.

'Mattie is so sweet to him.' He looked over from the blonde, to the other man who was beginning to calm down. 'I've never seen him calm down this fast before... That boy really is Ivan's perfect match.' Earlier when he observed the Canadian's worry for the Russian, he thought that maybe they were just close friends. 'It's funny how destiny works...' A sad look spilled into his eyes, 'Sometimes destiny's wake isn't in your favor.' He was looking out towards the area where his love probably lay dead. 'If only she hadn't used my love as a tool and actually tried to return it...' A lump formed in his throat and he felt a heavy wave of sorrow. Torris shook his head to clear it, and turned to look at the two men again, who were whispering among themselves.

Matthew looked down at his shoulder, then at Ivan's bullet wound. "Well go to my dad's he can help us there." The Russian looked up at Mattie's shoulder and frowned.

"Your father is a doctor, da?" Ivan didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing at the moment. He never liked doctors even before he went to the Asylum, and he definitely didn't like them after leaving. Matthew seemed to sense the mood, and smiled warmly in understanding.

"He used to be, but now he's retired." The Canadian shifted his good arm, and set it on the Russian's shoulder. "I don't know what went on in that place, but I can assure you that my dad has an actual degree." Ivan still shook with uneasiness and muttered a question. He hid his face with his bangs ashamed at having to ask.

"_What might his last name be?_"

"Hmm?" Matthew looked at the Russian's face searching for an answer. Ivan's face was drained off all it's color making him look ghostly.

"His name? What might that be?" A chilling breeze dug into the blonde's bones, he could remember the nameplate on the wall outside of the doctor's office.

"... Arthur, Arthur Kirkland." The Canadian felt the man in front of him relax and take a shaky sigh of relief.

"Поблагодарить бог..." Ivan spoke in his native tongue, and rested his palm on his forehead. Mattie just smiled, not understanding a word he said before turning to Torris.

"Were going to my fathers to get patched up, are you injured?" Toris seemed to snap out of a trance before stuttering a response.

"I- uh, no, no I'm not hurt. Thank you though." The Lithuanian smiled weakly, and turned around. He stared off towards the area his love was located, a strange emotion swirling in his eyes. "Y-you two go, I'll find my way home..." 'Please be ok Natalya.'

"Are you sure comrade? I could carry the both of you." Ivan stood up straight, and stretched out his arm to provoke his offer. Toris looked at the taller man, then at his arm and shook his head.

"I-I'm sure." The brunette waved goodbye to Mattie, and sighed. "I must be going now old friend." He walked over to the Russian, and held out his hand. Ivan stared down at the outstretched hand for a moment before gripping it with his own and looking up at Toris.

"Farewell friend." A flash of suspicion lit up his eyes before quickly leaving them. 'He's hiding something...' He narrowed his gaze, and feigned a generous smile, "Take care."

"Y-you too." Toris started to shutter under the Russian's intense gaze. He gave a shaky smile, and turned around to walk away. Mattie looked towards the man leaving and gave one last wave.

"Au revoir!" His only response was a held up hand, before the brunette was out of sight. The Canadian let out a short squeak as he felt large muscular arms scoop him up gently, minding his arm. 'I will never get used to that.' Ivan's face ducked down next to his and he could feel the other man's breath on his cheek. His own face lit up a light shade of pink before the Russian spoke.

"You will use your- 'Iphone' to contact your brother and tell him we will be gone for a while, yes?" As Ivan spoke he nodded his towards Mattie's coat pocket. He looked down at the area where his phone was held and gasped.

"I should have told him we were going out yesterday! He's probably panicking!"

At that moment back at his house Alfred was sitting in a recliner laughing, all of his friends surrounding him in different chairs and on the couch. "Dudes we should, we should see... if we can get arrested if we run around the neighborhood only wearing our underwear!" His face was pink from drinking alcohol all night with all of his friends.

"Kesesesesese~! Only if it's on our heads!" Gilbert laughed followed by everyone else. No one even noticed the Canadian's absence.

Matthew sent a text message to his brother saying, "srry 4 not txting u earlier ill b at dads 4 a wile 2day. ill probably b back by tonight." He had to shorten everything because without warning his friend lifted off and made his way into the clouds. In fear of dropping the device Mattie quickly shoved it into his pocket and curled into the other man's torso. Ivan looked down as he felt a constricting grip on his lower half. He smiled at the cowering Canadian and hovered in the air.

"Silly Matvey~ I need you to give me directions to your father's house or we'll never get there~!" Matthew slowly pulled his head out of the safety of other man's warm skin and looked up.

"O-oh," he reached into his pocket and opened Google maps on his phone. A few moments past before he pointed eastward. "Go that way for about... fifteen miles."

Ivan gave a cheerful smile, "That's all? Ok then, hold on little one." The Russian gave Mattie a second to hold on before taking off eastward with his powerful wings.

**When I finish catching up with my homework I promise to post the next chapter in a few days! Until next update~**


	9. Father Dearest

**Here you go, a nice chapter-sandwich~**

**Chapter 9 Father dearest**

About thirty minutes later, both men approached a small house in the middle of the forest. Ivan carefully set Matthew down and tucked his wings as tight as he could get them against his back. The Russian shook his head as he followed the Canadian onto the porch of his father's home.

"Are you sure he wont see my wings?" He asked, warily looking at the door and back to his friend. Mattie knocked on the door and turned to Ivan with a sly smile.

"Like I said before, he has these hallucinations of fairies and such, you won't be a surprise to him if he does." The winged man still didn't look convinced but let out a long drawn out sigh.

"I trust your words Matvey." Ivan leaned his neck down and set his head atop the Canadian's, closing his fatigue-filled eyes. Matthew blushed for a moment before he heard a familiar voice from inside the house.

"Just a minute~" The voice had a french accent that Mattie knew well.

'I forgot! uncle Francis is staying with dad now!' He suddenly felt alarmed, and by reflex stepped backwards, almost pushing Ivan off the porch. 'No, If he sees Ivan's-' The door swung open to reveal his 'uncle' wearing a pink apron with the words "Kiss the cook" on the front.

"Bonjour Matthew~!" The older man attacked him with a bear hug. For a few seconds Mattie let him deprive him of oxygen before pulling away and smiling weakly.

"Good morning Francis." The Canadian returned the greeting and followed his elder's gaze. He shifted to the side awkwardly and rubbed his neck.

"And who might this be Matthew? A friend of yours I may assume?" The Frenchman asked, a twinge of amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"W-well yes, Francis this is Ivan, my..." Mattie paused in thought for a moment before thinking up a realistic term. "Coworker... from my job at the library." It sounded almost believable, but just enough for his uncle. Francis looked over to Matthew with a smile.

"You didn't tell me you worked at the library Mattie~" The Canadian started to panic, before a firm hand rested on his shoulder.

"Da, that is correct, we have been working together for a while now. You see we were at a party, and we need to get Matvey's arm fixed by his father." He paused a moment before speaking again. "May we come in?" The Russian's voice did not waver, and held a calm tone. For a few agonizing moments, the two older men stared at each other, before Francis let out a friendly chuckle.

"Ah yes, you may. Please forgive me for holding you up." The older blonde backed up from the door, a smile still lit across his face. Ivan nodded thanks and herded Matthew inside gently. As they passed the Frenchman, he made a remark on the two black masses jutting out from Ivan's back. "And I might add that your costume is lovely~" Ivan tensed, as did Mattie, before they reached a big living room filled with soft colored furniture. A few bookshelves lined the walls, and a large fireplace centered the room and heated it with it's burning warmth. The Canadian looked behind himself and Ivan at his father's friend, who was slipping past them. Mattie searched the room and the surrounding doors, before a questioning look spread across his face.

"Where's dad?"

"I'm pretty sure your father wen't downstairs to play with his 'magic' again." Francis walked by them and exited into one of the doors across the hall to their right. Mattie felt Ivan start to sway behind him and turned to catch him. He almost threw the both of them onto the ground, if it wasn't for Matthew focusing all of his strength into his good shoulder. The Russian groaned and muttered something unintelligible before speaking a bit louder.

"Sorry comrade, I'm just a bit." There was a pause followed by him yawning. "I'm just a bit tired. Do you think your father or Francis will mind me sleeping on the sofa?" Ivan's eyes fluttered and a few more yawns escaped his mouth before he almost fell again.

"I'm sure they won't mind as long as you don't ruin anything." Mattie smiled up at the sleepy man and helped him over to the couch. He flopped onto the soft fabric and a loud sigh flew from his lips at the sudden warmth and comfort.

"Th-thank you Matvey..." Ivan flipped over and spread out his wings before wrapping them around himself like a blanket. He childishly put his thumb in his mouth before closing his eyes.

"Your welcome, but don't sleep for long, you have to get that bullet taken care of-"A soft snore broke into the Canadian's worries and made him smile. "Sweet dreams~" Loud footsteps and yelling exploded throughout the house as Francis emerged from the door he left through. Another man followed him, a furious expression pained onto his face.

"Bloody hell! What is it now frog?! I was in the middle of summoning a water sprite." The Englishman turned into his living room and saw his son sitting on the sofa smiling. "Mattie? Why are you here?" Matthew looked up from the sleeping Russian, and laughed nervously.

"H-hey dad." The young Canadian stood up and walked over to Arthur to give him a hug. Francis walked up to them with an over-exaggerated frown.

"What? No hugs for uncle Francis?" He pouted at the both of them. The Englishman pulled away from Mattie and yelled at his friend.

"You git! The last time he gave you a hug you groped him!" Arthur was shaking the Frenchman back-and-forth violently to add emphasis on how enraged he was.

"Oh honhonhonhon~ It wasn't groping, It was just a friendly gesture~!" Both men began to fight as Matthew stood there awkwardly for a few minutes. He remembered the time his uncle groped him, and he didn't feel like reliving the experience.

"D-dad? Could you help me?" The Canadian's voice was quieter than usual, making it close to a whisper. Arthur froze midway in strangling his friend, and looked over to his son.

"What was that Matthew?" Both of them asked at the same time.

"I just wan't you to please fix my shoulder." Mattie's voice wasn't any louder, but was heard because of the silence. At the mention of his shoulder, Arthur let go of his death-grip on Francis and hurried over to Matthew's side.

"What happened to it?!" His father wasn't so gentle with grabbing the appendage, and caused the Canadian to yelp. Arthur muttered an apology, and continued to eye the injury. Francis huffed and watched them for a minute before going into the kitchen to restart their breakfast. Arthur fussed over Mattie before feeling the shattered bone. As squeaks of protest escaped his mouth, a low grumble came from the couch. The Englishman's gaze was instantly pulled over to the awakening figure.

"Matvey? Are you ok?" Ivan rolled over and lifted his wings to stretch. He turned his head after yawning, sleep still dulling his sight. Arthur stared in shock at the angelic figure that just practically appeared out of nowhere saying a name that was clearly not in English.

"Who's this bloke!?" Arthur flashed his eyes over to Matthew who looked a little awkward. The Russian rubbed his eyes of sleep and smiled towards the two.

"Oh, hello Arthur~" Ivan squinted before shaking his head. "You are, Arthur right?" The room was plunged into a thick silence, the only sound being the faint sound of Francis singing a feminine tune in the kitchen.

"D-dad, this is Ivan. He's my coworker." Matthew tried to use the same excuse he used earlier in hopes that it would work. Arthur turned from the now frozen Russian over to his son, a disbelieving frown on his face.

"That is the most frog-brained excuse I have ever heard, and I live with one." He scolded. "What is this _creature _doing in my house!? I told you not to bring any magical beings from that forest!" Arthur raged on about his fairy nonsense and pointed an accusing finger at Ivan. Mattie opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted by a large shadow cast over them.

"Mr. Kirkland, If I may ask, what are these... 'magical beings' you are speaking of?" Ivan's low voice came from above them. Arthur stood at full height, still a head shorter than the Russian. He seemed a little angered by this, and his voice dripped with irritation.

"What do you mean!? From the looks of you, your some type of angel."

The Englishman's eyes wandered down to the man's bare chest. "And your some kind of immortal one at that, a metal bullet would have killed you by now..."

Matthew watched as the two of them chatted about some kind of nonsense, and rolled his eyes. 'Please just make the pain go away soon...'

"It definitely feels like it..." Ivan grumbled just low enough for Arthur to hear.

"How did all of this happen?" Arthur turned to his son, suspicion sparking from his emerald eyes. The Canadian let out a heavy sigh.

"It's kind of a long story..." He sent a glance over to Ivan, asking permission to talk about their first meeting. In response, the Russian nodded slowly before frowning and looking off to the side. Arthur started to tap his foot in impatience.

"Well?" He asked furrowing his large eyebrows. Mattie paused for a moment thinking of how to approach the question before sighing. He slowly began the story while his father listened quietly. He left out some of the more gruesome and personal details for his friend's benefit.

"...and we came to you for help." Matthew finished, looking over to his depressed looking friend then back to his father.

Arthur's face was blank for a moment. "So you want me to believe that this man is from some... old abandoned asylum? Are you really being serious!?" Arthur shot a hateful glare over to Ivan. "Even if he was, I don't want my son anywhere near such a creature! He was in there for a reason Mattie!" The Englishman exploded in rage.

"B-but dad-" Mattie squeaked.

"He HURT you Matthew!"

Both of them continued to fight while Ivan awkwardly sat on the couch. He sighed and lay his head in his hands. 'This is all so pointless, Matvey has to get help soon or his shoulder will heal wrong!' His chest felt tight at the thought of Mattie's pain. The bullet lodged in him didn't help either. Even with his eyes closed, Ivan could sense a sudden movement in front of him.

"Bonjour mon ami." He felt another weight on the right side of the couch. The Russian pulled his head out of his hands just enough to see Matthew's uncle. The bubbly blonde smiled down at him and held out a rather large glass of wine. Ivan lifted his head up straight, frowning at the alcoholic beverage.

"No... thank you" He turned his head the other way, and watched Mattie and his father walk into the other room still fighting about him. The Frenchman pulled the glass back to himself, and started to drink from it, still watching Matthew's friend. He looked down at the man and in the direction he was looking in. Francis sighed and set his drink down on the armrest.

"They do that a lot, though it's usually Alfred who gets him riled up like this." Ivan made no sound, but leaned back against the couch.

He sighed, "I don't want to lose Matvey... he's all I have..." Ivan closed his eyes again, imagining the world without the young Canadian. 'I would still be in that hell if it wasn't for him...' His chest seemed to tighten even more at the thought. Francis's lips curled into a smile much like a teenage girl sharing gossip.

"So you two aren't 'just coworkers'?" The Frenchman leaned over and set his hand on Ivan's shoulder. "I knew Mattie would find someone sooner or later..." He was practically glowing with pride.

The Russian felt a sudden rush of panic. 'Wait, what? What was this man getting at? We're just friend's right?' He looked over in the direction Matthew went with his father. 'I may feel a bit protective of him, but that doesn't mean we're...' His thought's went blank for a moment. 'Would that really be a bad thing?' He pondered the idea for a long moment. Ivan shook his head to clear it. 'What am I thinking!?' Francis looked at the shocked and bewildered look on the man's face and smiled wider.

"Oh mon ami, just accept it, I'm sure Matthew feels the same~" The blonde comforted, rubbing gentle circles onto the other man's shoulder. Ivan sighed heavily and looked over to Francis with an unconvinced expression. An annoyed sounding cough came from their left, forcing them both to turn their heads.

"Ahem," Arthur stood next to the couch, Mattie at his side looking relieved. There was a pause for a short moment. "I'll help the both of you as long as-"

"Thank you." Ivan cut of the Englishman before standing up and holding out his hand in respect. Arthur looked even more frustrated, but firmly shook his hand. He leaned forward and became more serious than before.

"If you so much as lay a finger on Matthew, you wont be walking out of here alive." His words were chilling, but Ivan would obey his request.

"Da, I will keep myself in check." The Russian gave a short smile over Arthur's shoulder over to Mattie, who returned it with the same happiness. Arthur followed his gaze, and turned around.

"Come on Matthew, lets get your shoulder in one piece." He walked up to his son and gently coaxed him towards the basement door. The Canadian followed his father without any questions asked. The Russian looked over to Francis, who was already halfway through his alcohol. The Frenchman winked at him and once again started to drink his wine.

A loud angry voice came from the door Mattie disappeared into. "Are you coming?"

Ivan let a smile tug at his lips.'This doctor isn't that bad..." He walked over to the basement door and began his decent down the old wooden steps.

**If anyone was wondering France isn't really Mattie's uncle. He's actually Arthur's friend/roommate. C: Later~**


	10. England ER

**Another late chapter by yours truly~**

Chapter 10 England E.R.

Matthew sat on a lightly stained hospital bed, his father lecturing him about medical procedures, and what must be done to help him. He kept looking over at his friend curled up on the bed next to his. A soft frown spread across his face as his father rambled on with all of his scientific words and precautions. Ivan shivered and wrapped his wings tighter to his body, his skin was paler than before, making his image ghostly. The scarf still snugly wrapped around his neck was pulled as high as the tip of his nose for warmth.

"...and you must stay perfectly still, I am not certified to own any tranquilizers, so we'll have to numb the area and hope for the best. Promise me you won't fidget, no matter how much it feels strange or painful." Arthur leaned his face into the Canadians, who was spacing out in Ivan's direction.

"Y-ya, ok sure dad..." He barely snapped out of his trace, but agreed anyway.

His father backed away and rubbed his temples in frustration. "Stop worrying about him lad, he survived this long-"

"Please," Mattie interrupted him in his wispy voice. "Please, just... help him for me?" The Russian flipped over to face the two, his thumb hanging out of his mouth. He grumbled and continued to sleep, still faintly shivering.

Arthur backed away from his son a sigh escaping his lips. He furrowed his huge eyebrows before speaking, "If I must."

The Canadian smiled warmly, "Thanks dad." Without thinking about his injury, he leapt up to give Arthur a hug. A silent scream of pain came from his throat at the inability to move his shoulder. The pain shot straight up his shoulder and threw him back a few inches. He could have sworn he heard a sickening crunching sound. Tears stung his eyes, but he refused to let them fall any farther.

"Matthew! Sit down! You've just made my job a hundred times more difficult! What if your bone just separated more!?" His father chastised, a worried look flashing into his emerald eyes.. Mattie looked to the ground in disappointment, but sat back down and shifted into a lying position. All of his worries rushed back to him, 'Why do I have the feeling that this is going to hurt more than I would have ever expected...'

"Ok lad, you ready?" Arthur turned around, a small syringe filled with a clear liquid clutched between his fingers. A small pair of reading glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, and a black cloak draped from his shoulders. He pulled up a light and flicked it on, causing Mattie to squint.

"W-why are you wearing that?" Matthew asked, gesturing towards the dark clothing wrapped around the Englishman.

"I don't want to ruin my favorite shirt!" His fuzzy eyebrows shot up, and he looked disgusted at such a thought. The Canadian flinched, and whimpered.

"S-sorry dad, sure I-I think I'm ready." Mattie lay down and relaxed his muscles, a soft frown etched into his face. Arthur let out an exasperated sigh, and bent down to inject the numbing liquid into the Canadian's shoulder.

Matthew let out a squeak as it slid into the surface of his sickly looking black and blue shoulder. Red splotches decorated it's surface, adding to it's horrific effect. Small shapes representing his shattered bone pulled at the surface of his skin giving the terrible scene texture. In a few minutes, all of the pain was dulled just enough for him to not feel the gloved hand that now lay on the injury. A smile made it's way onto his face as a hopeful thought crossed his mind, 'This might not be as bad as I thought...' Then without warning the hand was replaced with a metal scalpel burning a red line across the irritated area. No amount of fancy pain killers could dull the extreme agony rushing through his whole body.

"F-fuck..." He whimpered out as a tear rolled down his cheek.

The hell that followed wasn't predictable nor imaginable for Matthew, and he would never wish for such pain on anyone for as long as he lived. The white sling wrapped around his arm just added to the throbbing pain. It was over for now, he didn't have to have anymore work done until the stitches had to come out. Oh how he looked forward to that day with the joy of a child on Christmas morning. All he wanted to do was collapse into his own bed at home and sleep for eternity, but from what his father said, he still had to explain what was wrong with Ivan.

"What happened to the poor bloke in the first place? I'm no psychiatrist, but I still can't think of any good reason for him to be completely normal one moment then psycho killer the next." Both men were staring over in the direction of the Russian, a frown present on their faces for different reasons. "If what you told me about the asylum and his age is true he must to be some kind of magical being..." The older man continued to mumble to himself in thought.

"Y-you promise not to tell anyone?" The Canadian looked up at his father, a deep feeling of betrayal swimming around in his lavender eyes.

"I don't see the point in promising about something like this!" Arthur looked enraged again.

"P-please, just promise me..." Mattie put on his most adorable puppy face and looked into his father's eyes.

The Englishman grit his teeth angrily, "Fine! I promise, just tell me already!" Matthew frowned but hesitated to answer.

'Should I really share his secret?' His eyes traveled over to the fuming Brit, and his mind changed instantly. 'He needs to know. Ivan wont get the proper care if he doesn't.' " Ivan didn't die from the bullet in his chest... because there's nothing there for it to hit. One of the people from the asylum... sort of... cut it out of him..." The Canadian looked down at the ground afraid that his father will blow up in disbelief. It was silent other than the quiet chatters coming from the sleeping Russian. The air wasn't heavy with tension, but wonder. Matthew looked up at his dad after a long few minutes, still a little cautious about his movements. Arthur rested his hand on his chin, a questioning brow raised.

"I can't say I've ever heard that one before, but that would answer some of my questions..." The Englishman shrugged and walked over to one of his wooden tables filled with large hardcovers. Mattie followed close behind and watched as his father flipped through a few pages of a large green book. The Englishman walked over to the other side of the room and dug through a small cardboard box. He came back holding in his hands what looked like an over-sized tictac container. It's silver frame shone in the dimly lit room, outlining a large red light in the middle of it.

"Wha-"

"Shh. Could you read those directions right there for me lad?" Arthur seemed engrossed in the object, but took a second to point to a large paragraph in the hardcover.

"O-ok..." Matthew did as instructed and read the best he could, without his eyes drooping in fatigue. The surgery drained him of most of his energy, and left his brain mostly foggy. He had a glimpse of the cover and his face twisted in confusion. 'Mechanics?' "Why do you have this kind of book?"

The Englishman looked away from his work, his eyebrows stitched together in frustration. "Your friend Ludwig gave it to your brother for Christmas. He left it here saying he didn't need it."

'That's Ludwig alright, not knowing what to get for my brother. I don't blame him though, I can't think of what he'd like either.' Mattie continued to read from the book, not interrupting his father's work.

About half an hour passed while Arthur continued to tinker with the object, and other parts he found from the box before he let out a victorious "hmmf."

"Finally the damned thing is done, thank you Mattie." The older man looked over, the object clutched in his palm. It had tubes jutting out all around it's surface, and it's shape had been filled in with parts and now resembled more of a spherical shape. His features softened at the sight of his sluggish son. "You may go upstairs to your old bedroom and get some rest. But please have the frog help you with your arm."

The Canadian didn't hesitate a second before turning around and shuffling up the stairs with a grumble of appreciation.

The Englishman sighed and lowered his gaze towards the shivering man. "I don't want you to have to see what I'm going to do to him either..." He shook his head and frowned. "I can't believe of all people in this world to befriend, my Matthew had to choose a freak." Ivan twitched and flipped around to face towards the left. "I can't say that, Mattie is a grown man. He can make his own decisions..." It tore Arthur on the inside to say that, but he couldn't say no to his son's wishes, especially when he puts on the puppy face he'd used since childhood. He smirked and turned to his medical table and prepared his tools for yet another surgery.

Once all cleaned and ready, he turned back towards Ivan and frowned. 'I hope he can sleep through this...' He gently turned over the man and shifted his wings to either side of him, making sure he was cautious enough not to wake him. He carefully peeled the scarf from his patient's neck and set it off to the side, causing him to stir. The Englishman's eyes searched the injured area, and he frowned. Arthur pulled up his overhead light and shone it over towards Ivan. The temperature of Ivan's body proved to be that of a corpse.

"Matthew's right, theres nothing there for the bullet to kill him." Another dark thought crossed his mind. "Not having it there IS killing him." Arthur made a long incision down the center of Ivan's chest, and clipped the skin off to the sides to keep it open. A soft murmur came from the Russian, sounding fearful with a hint of rage. "This is going to be difficult to say the least." The Brit shook his head, carefully cutting through the man's misshapen ribs. 'They really weren't gentle when they ripped his heart out.'

It took the Brit about an hour but he was finally bandaging up Ivan's chest. Red already stained the outside from the sudden rush of circulating blood in Ivan's body. He wouldn't admit it, but Arthur was glad he could help Matthew's friend in such a dire time. He sterilized his tools and slipped his gloves off, resuming with his spell earlier abandoned with his son's appearance. A soft creaking sound came from the staircase, so quiet that Arthur didn't even take his eyes off the spell book in his arms.

"Mon dieu! It reeks down here!" A french voice broke into the Englishman's thoughts, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Holy- FRANCIS! You wanker! You sabotaged my spell!" Purple sparks burst around the room and sizzled into ash.

Francis frowned, "I apologize, but I just came down to check on you. Mattie said you were planning on doing something with his friend?"

Arthur grit his teeth and furrowed his caterpillar brows, "Yes , he's fine now, go away frog." Without waiting for a reply, the Englishman turned around and began to read from his book again.

"Calm down mon ami, it doesn't make since for you to be so angry with me." The older man looked to be on the brink of tears.

"You make as much since as a horse's ass!" Arthur didn't bother to look away from his spell book.

"Well Matthew wanted to know if you had any pain killers, he said he can't fall asleep." Francis rested his hand on the other's shoulder, pleading him to turn around.

"Did you even _try_ to check the medicine cabinet?" Arthur turned around a look of agitation painted on his face.

"You hurt me Arthur." The Frenchman pouted.

"M-Matvey?" A low hoarse voice came from the other side of the room. Both men turned in the direction of the voice, shocked.

"H-he's awake?!" Arthur blurted out in disbelief. Francis shifted his gaze over to his roommate, a questioning expression etched into his features.

"Why wouldn't he be?" The Frenchman didn't understand why that was so concerning. He watched as the younger blonde strode over to the hospital bed where Matthew's friend lay.

Arthur's face bent in confusion, 'He was awake just a moment ago.' His emerald gaze searched the other's sleeping form. He set his hand on the bandages over Ivan's chest. The surface was hot, to match the faint red glow coming from under the stained cloth. He could feel the make-shift heart hammer painfully against Ivan's ribs. His blood pressure was much to high for the metal device to handle. "Damn it's already beginning to overheat."The Englishman whispered to himself. He turned around towards Francis, who looked bewildered with a hint of concern.

"Whats wrong?" Francis began to walk over before he was stopped by his roommate's words.

"Could you go fetch me some water and a cloth?"

The Frenchman nodded, "Do you need anything else while I'm up there?"

Arthur pondered for a moment before answering. "A cup of tea would be greatly appreciated." He turned his head back down towards his patient and continued to survey the bandages.

The older blonde smiled and nodded his head again. "Got it, what kind of tea do you think he likes?"

"It's not for him you twit!" Arthur hollered harshly.

Francis flinched as a frown tugged at his lips. "I'm sorry mon ami, I'll be back in a minute." Without another word he rushed up the stairs, off to complete his task.

**Hey! If anyone wants longer chapters, just let me know I'll try my best ;) Until next chappy~**


	11. Comfort

**Mmm freshly baked chapter**

Chapter 11 Comfort

Matthew lay in his old bed, a frown present on his face. Not only was his arm throbbing with every little movement, but his head was also spinning like an old carousel. Sleep wasn't coming to him as easily as he would have hoped.

"I hope Francis could find those pills." He stared worriedly up at the clock hanging from his wall. "It's been an hour since he left..." The clock ticked again, louder to emphasize the passing of an hour. Mattie sighed and gently rubbed small circles on the sling over his shoulder. He waited fifteen more minutes before he heard quick footsteps outside his door. The door exploded open to reveal a flustered Francis holding a small white bottle in his hands.

"Sorry Mattie, your dad had something he needed help with." The Frenchman walked in and sat on the edge of the bed, resting for a minute. He handed the bottle of pills to his nephew. "There you are."

"T-thank you, but... could I have a glass of water?" The Canadian asked with a sheepish smile. He didn't want to have to worry his uncle anymore than he already was.

Francis stared at the bottle for a moment before slapping his face with his palm. "Mon dieu, what is with my brain today?" He walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a mug filled with water. "I'm sorry Matthew." The Frenchman sat down again after handing Mattie the mug.

"That's ok, I don't mind really. Thank you." The Canadian opened the bottle and rolled two pills into his palm. He continued to pop them in his mouth and force them down his throat with a large gulp of water. His face scrunched in pain as his head pounded unbearably.

"Are you ok?" The older blonde asked, turning his head to stare at him.

Mattie slowly shook his head, a weak smile present on his lips. "N-no I'm fine j-just a little drained." Setting the cup on the bedside table, he carefully pulled the thick covers over his shoulders. He lay his head down on the soft material of his pillow. The coolness of it's surface bled through his hair, bringing with it another wave of fatigue. A tired sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes, waiting for the medicine to take effect. Images of recent events played over and over in his head as he felt his consciousness slip away.

Francis smiled down at the nodding off Canadian before gently standing up. "Sweet dreams~" He waved and proceeded to walk out of the room, pulling the door shut silently. His feet led him into the kitchen where a tall bottle of aged wine wait, half empty. A smile pulled at his lips. "What a life saver, I don't think I would be able to survive the rest of this madness without you~" He wrapped his slender fingers around the bottle and shrugged. "It's not like anyone likes this brand anyway..." Slowly the bottle became more and more empty by the second as he chugged it happily. The Frenchman's gulps echoed in the small room for a while until the bottle was empty. He set it down with a content sigh. 'I could go for a nap as well.' With one last glance towards the basement door, he shuffled over towards his room to sleep off his worries. Outside the sounds of the night broke through the thin glass of the windows. The full moon shone through, illuminating the whole house, and giving it an eerie glow.

"Stop moving you git!" Arthur yelled, as he struggled to restrain the large man under him. Ivan grunted in effort, his teeth clutched tightly together. If he wasn't in so much pain at the moment, he would have easily thrown the Englishman across the room with little effort.

"No, I must stand up!" He thrashed his wings upwards as far as they could go with his weight crushing down on them. One wing slapped the side of his attacker's head, resulting in his loosened grip. Curses flew from Arthur's mouth as he was over thrown onto the cold stone floor.

"You'll pull the stitches out!" The younger male's words came a few moments late, as Ivan was already standing. A sudden tearing of his skin threw him to his knees in pain. He clutched at the thin cloth covering his wound, his breathing quickening. He began to panic at the strange feeling throughout his body. Something throbbed madly under his skin, adding to his suffering. Every time it moved, he could feel his ribs and skin pull tighter and tighter on him. His body was trying to reject the metal device built to help him. The Russian bent his head down to hide his eyes, a soft frown on his face. "Torture, just like old times, da?" He laughed weakly at the twisted truth of his situation. Even laughing jarred his insides, causing him to take a sharp breath of agony. A faint smile pulled at his lips, oh how week and vulnerable he was at the moment.

"This wouldn't have happened if you just listened to me." A hand rested on Ivan's shoulder gaining his reaction to jolt forward. He turned his head to look at the Englishman, his eyes dark and his face shaded.

"Where is Matvey?" The question rolled off his tongue without his permission. At the time it sounded harsh or murderous but in his mind he meant it to be genuine.

Arthur looked a little startled by his tone, but quickly straightened up. "He has nothing to do with you right now." He pointed towards the hospital bed, his eyebrows stitched together in frustration."Rest." Ivan glared at him menacingly, he didn't like the grouchy man's attitude. None the less, he complied with his best ability to do so without falling to his knees again. When he eventually got back onto the accursed thing, Arthur nodded his head in approval. "There, now please try to get some sleep. Mattie will be up later tomorrow, and I'm sure he would like to see you awake instead of asleep for a change." He wiped the sweat from his brow and dusted himself off. Arthur took off his cloak and glasses and set them down off to the side. "Goodnight." He nodded his head towards the hostile looking Russian before exiting the basement. The overhead light flickered off at the Englishman's commanding switch.

Ivan's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he sat in silence. He heard Arthur yell at Francis to get out of his bed and that he was drunk before it was relatively silent again. The one sound that wouldn't go away and leave him alone still thundered in his ears. The memory was at the farthest reaches of his mind, including the strange feeling of Déjà vu. He slowly and carefully sat up, his hand pushed against the wound to keep it shut. His purple gaze traveled around the room. Something felt off and it gave him an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. A sad frown burned into his features. He had to find Mattie. Ivan waited a moment, making sure his body was ready for the effort of walking. The need to see Matthew was greater than that of his safety. He threw his head to the side before pushing off the bed and onto wobbly legs. The rush of pain almost hindered his plans, but he pushed on. Red deepened in the cloth in a straight line down his center where the incision was made. He shakily pushed himself up more and his intense gaze pieced the surrounding darkness in the direction of the staircase.

'I will see him, even if it KILLS me.' He had a longing that was even more intense than when he spoke with Francis about his feelings. It charred his core with an undying heat matching no other substance. Slowly the puzzle pieces of his mind matched up. He was alive now, he was sure of that at the moment. Though he knew he was dying when Arthur mentioned it. At that thought he recognized it. The feeling of life returned as it had when he first met with the young Canadian. There was no clear explanation for it now, but he knew that he was given this second chance. He had a heart again, and boy did it feel great. Everything seemed to brighten from it's usual grey. His feet edged into motion. Slowly but surely, he started to shuffle off of the piece of furniture, and onto the next object. He was getting somewhere. When he let go of the bedside table, he doubled over in pain. A low grunt came from deep in his throat. The Russian sat for a moment on the floor, waiting for his wound to stop burning with an unnatural heat. His attention was brought down to the unrelenting burning after what seemed like forever passed. His pounding heart wouldn't calm down for five seconds so he could get to his destination. He was beginning to get ticked off at himself. 'Sense when was I this weak?' As he gazed at himself in disgust, he spotted a faint glow coming from his chest. His head cocked to the side questioningly. "What is this?" Ivan carefully unwrapped the bandages, wincing at the release of his healing ribs. His eyes traveled to the source, and his eyebrows shot up. The Russian stared in awe, at it. A radiant red light pierced his skin, shadowing veins on the surface. In the center of the glow there was an object about the size of his fist. He knew exactly what it was, judging by it's location and rapid movement. It felt strange to him. For some reason Ivan felt alien in his own body. He had no idea what to think at the time. In silence, he steadily pushed himself up, shoving away all of his questions for later. Shaking his head to clear it, he continued to stand, then shuffled across the cold flooring. His movement continued until he reached the staircase leading to the upper level of the house.

The stairs. He squinted at them, frowning. Why? Why him? Why now? There was already blood dripping down his abdomen from his previous efforts. Letting out a grunt, he wrapped one wing around himself, and used the other and his arm for support against the wall. Ivan pulled one leg above the other, ascending up the wooden passageway. Blood began to soak into his already bloodstained wing, giving him cold chills. Ivan tried his best to get his footing corrected before he fell. His head swiveled to the side to look behind himself. Not such a long fall, but devastating to him in his condition. He swallowed his pride and continued to tread up the stairs as quietly as possible. Every few steps the Russian would stop to catch his breath and wait for his chest to cool. When he eventually reached the top, and walked through the half open door, the sun had already began to creep up into the sky. He turned around to close the door as a polite gesture and spotted the trail of blood he left. A groan of aggravation vibrated in his throat at the sight of it.

"No, I have to get to Matvey, I don't have time to clean up." The Russian eased the door shut, and walked forward into the living room. His eyes traveled frantically around until he saw a cluster of doors in another hall. He walked with less difficulty than before, an unexplainable feeling welling up in him, numbing his pain. With his ear pressed to the first door, he determined who's room it would be. The gentle sound of two people snoring came from the other side. Francis and Arthur's room. Ivan quietly turned away from the door, and walked up to the one next to it. No one inside. He shuffled over to the next one, his patience beginning to wear thin. Daylight poured from the windows dotting the whole house, filling it with it's weak early morning light. His face scrunched up in a mixture of frustration and anticipation. Another empty room. Less quietly, but still not at an alarming volume, he walked up to the second to last door. Being almost sure of the presence inside, he walked in without checking for life. Luckily for him, he chose the right one. Mattie lay in his bed, his head resting on his uninjured shoulder. Ivan squinted at his face, making sure he was asleep. He couldn't help but smile gently. 'So cute~' The Canadian looked like a sleeping angel. The window above Matthew's bed gave the room a fitting shimmer of light. His heart finally at ease, Ivan stealthily tiptoed over to the other's bed. He looked down at his wound then at the dark sheets that lay on the bed. A sly apologetic smile worked it's way onto his face, replacing his sweet one. "Sorry Matvey." He whispered before gently folding the blankets over and sliding under them. The Russian couldn't hold back a pained groan as the fabric scrapped over his cut. He turned over on his side and wrapped his wing over himself, the end feathers brushing into Mattie with the slightest touch. The heat that had engulfed his body receded into his chest, and eventually faded as sleep gripped his mind once more.

**Daww! If my attention span grows in the next week or so, I might be capable of writing longer chapters, so... ya. Later~**


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